Coded in Brown
by ashmanonar
Summary: 18 months after the BDM, the crew of Serenity picks up a new stray with a hidden past.  OC is mine, rest are Joss's  M/R, Inara/OC, Z/W, S/K - Please R/R! slightly AU -  Wash survived
1. Chapter 1

18 months after the BDM, the crew of Serenity picks up a new stray with a hidden past. OC is mine, rest are Joss's. M/R, Inara/OC, Z/W, S/K - Please R/R! slightly AU - Wash survived.

* * *

><p>He ignored the graze from the bullet on his arm as he pelted through the alleys of Eavesdown. Night was falling as he scurried behind merchant stands and cargo containers, searching for a ship that looked ready to take off. Somewhere behind him, he heard the staccato steps of the agents that followed him; they sounded entirely in rhythm, like two beats of the same drum. He turned suddenly several times, turning blindly into alleys; unfortunately, turning into a dead-end with no doors. "Gorramnit, Yu Bun Duh!" he grated, breathing heavily.<p>

The agents walked slowly up the alley, in lockstep. "Jamison Monroe, we need to speak with you."

He cursed again, angry at leaving his dwelling without his gorram gun today. He'd already tried his hand at fighting them, and had a painfully dislocated shoulder to show for it. One blue-gloved hand reached into a coat pocket, pulling out a silver cylindrical object; he pressed a button, and blue arms slid to the side.

The other blue hand spoke, his voice eerily like that of his partner. "There is no need to fight us; we already have all we need from you." The silver object began to emit a high-pitched tone, and Jamison Monroe dropped to his knees, screaming as waves of intense pain washed over him. He seemed to see from outside his body as blood began to drip from his sinuses and ears, could feel himself dying. Over the shoulders of the blue hands he saw someone turn the corner; Gorramit, feds!

The 5 foot tall girl with flowing brown hair didn't seem to be a fed though; with a brisk challenge in Mandarin, the blue hands turned their heads abruptly as two precisely-aimed shots rang out from the chrome-plated automatic in her hand. From behind, as his vision darkened, Jamison watched in surprise as the backs of the blue hand's heads exploded outward in a spray of gray matter and blood. The silver device fell to the ground out of a now-limp blue hand, and cracked on the ground, the sound dying out.

As his vision tunneled and darkened, he saw several more people approaching. Then he blacked out, and saw no more.

* * *

><p>The first thing he heard was low voices; maybe he would see his family again?<p>

"-looks like he's beginning to come around."

"Maybehaps he'll be able to tell us a thing're two about why he had two of those Wong Ba Duhn's pointin' their little piece of Luh Suh at him?"

"Captain, I'm not sure he'll remember; I don't have any idea of what effects that device has, when it doesn't kill the target."

Jamie' lips were cracked and sore; he must have gotten dehydrated by the injuries. "I surely do remember." As he opened his eyes slowly, painfully, feeling the hot bite of the bullet graze, the slow burn of the dislocated shoulder, and the bone-deep body ache the surgical lights overhead stung him. He saw two men standing nearby, approaching to speaking distance.

The two men were about equal in height; one had darker brown hair and a smooth, young face, and wore fine clothing under a surgical apron. The other had lighter brown hair, and had a face that was worn by care and time, not old but no longer young. He wore a long brown duster, cut of rough leather, with patches and seams visible. Underneath he wore all tans and browns; Jamie' logical mind immediately pinned him down as a former Independent.

"Hey there. Thought you were almost gone." The face was openly friendly, but Jamie could see the tension and mistrust underneath, almost as though it were written on.

"..Guess I'm not. S'pose I have you to thank."

"I'm Mal Reynolds. You're onboard my ship, but we can talk about that later. Right now, the Doc tells me you need a rest."

"Sounds like a decent notion, Cap'n."

"I'll give you something to help you sleep." said the soft-voiced doctor, setting a hypodermic and putting it to his arm.

Before he faded out again, he heard the captain pull the doctor aside and say in a low voice "I'll send 'Tross down later to listen in for a while; see that he doesn't go anywhere." The doctor nodded, a bit of a shadow crossing his face, and turned back to his diagnostic instruments as the brown-coated captain swept out of the room.

Darkness took over again.


	2. Chapter 2

Mal Reynolds dropped his coat in his bunk, then strode back to the brightly-painted galley, his feet feeling the steady hum of Serenity beneath them. His brow was furrowed in concentration, thought, and more than a little cantankerousness. He walked over to the coffee dispenser and drew a cup, then took it to the long wooden table to sit and think.

Ever since that fateful day on Persephone, his life had been a little more complicated than he liked, and he was getting the feeling that it wasn't going to stop any time soon.

He was lost in thought, when soft but precise footsteps strode into the gallery from the cargo bay; a mocha-haired beauty in a crimson silk robe walked in, seeing Mal at the table and walking over to sit next to him. She waited for him to speak; she knew by now not to disturb him in this mood.

Finally Mal looked up from his reverie, sipping at his coffee. _Ugh, looks like Simon made it today; I'll be up all night._

"So, 'Nara, what do you think of our new passenger?" _Fat chance she'll tell me what's really on her mind about him._

"I'm not sure Mal. From what River told me on her way in, he was being attacked by the Blue Hands; but why?"

"I'm thinkin' on that my ownself. Somethin' about him screams Fed, but if that were the case, why would the Huen Dahns be killin' one of their own?"

"It wouldn't be the first time, Mal. From what Simon said about the St. Lucy's job, they used their device on the federal marshals that had snatched them there."

"S'true. Still, something about him just bothers me. He's definitely hidin' somethin'. We'd best be keepin' a close eye on him until we know what's what."

"Has River been down to see him yet?"

"I haven't asked her yet. I'm honestly leery of it; those Blue Hands threw her off her balance already. It may be the only way to suss out the truth though. I'll think on it a bit longer. Probably be lettin' him up to the galley fer dinner, sure he'll be hungry."

Inara Serra only nodded. She got up, walking up to crew quarters; probably goin' to see Zoe, Mal thought.

He sat back, looking up through the overhead skylights to see the Black passing by. _Still flyin'._

* * *

><p>Jayne Cobb stomped up from the cargo bay, followed silently by River Tam; Mal saw them still red with sweat and exertion; musta been practicin' hand-to-hand today, he thought idly.<p>

Jayne nodded at Mal as he passed around the table, crossing to the galley wall to get a drink.

River walked behind Mal's chair, passing out of his line-of-sight, then Mal felt warm arms circle around his neck and soft lips kiss his cheek, the warmth of her entire upper body pressing against his.

"Hey, 'Tross." he whispered gently.

"Hey Bao Bei." she murmured, lips lingering on his cheek, reveling in his warmth.

He heard Jayne snort as he sat down at the table. "Can't y'all be doin' that elsewheres? Yer' bunk, f'rinstance?"

River glared at Jayne, peering out through her curtain of brown hair, shutting him up for the moment. She went back to the galley, getting herself a cup of water before sitting down at the table, knee touching Mal's.

"Well 'Tross, any idea what our friend in the infirmary is on about?"

"Blue Hands have disrupted her control. Hasn't been able to focus. Training with man-called-Jayne only now bringing clarity."

Mal nodded, glancing at her sympathetically. Whenever the Blue Hands became involved, River was beside herself for days, losing her carefully-practiced control. It had only happened 2 times since the Miranda broadwave, but every time she reverted to third-person speech and metaphors. It took less time each occasion, but she would still be beside herself for a while.

Jayne sat uncharacteristically silent; Mal knew something had to be eating at him for him to stop playfully bickering with River like that.

"Jayne, you wanna weigh in?"

The big man sat quietly for a moment, staring at his water cup.

* * *

><p>Of all the people on Serenity, these two, his strong arm and his eyes that could see what wasn't visible, had changed the most over the past 18 months. Now that the burning secrets of Miranda no longer blinded her eyes and mind, she had settled down. Although she would never be normal, by any stretch of the word, she had cultivated a logical form of control, and could mostly out-think the damage they had done. It was only in times of great stress that she reverted to her metaphors and confusing babble, and those times were coming less and less often as her control increased.<p>

Jayne had changed greatly as well; the loss of Shepherd Book had hit him hard. Though he had been sending part of his pay back to his Ma all his life, Mal thought that Jayne had realized for the first time what family really was. When they had stood together on Mr. Universe's moon against the tide of Reavers, and survived, he had seen that there was more to crew than just the people you worked with.

He had mostly stopped quarreling with River, except in a friendly, Ghuh-Ghuh way; no longer calling her Crazy out of malice, but rather familiarity and affection. He was more friendly with Simon, if that could be believed. He'd even been helping Simon learn how to shoot, and handle a variety of weapons. In return, although Jayne thought it a highly-classified secret, Simon had been helping Jayne learn to read and write better, learn things that were outside his immediate sphere of guns, women, and food. He was getting an education, something Jayne had never imagined could be possible.

* * *

><p>"Honestly, I don' like it, Mal. Somethin' about him bugs me somethin' fierce. Obv'sly he's a Fed, but doin' what? Why're the Hands attackin' their own?"<p>

"You're right, Jayne. 'Nara said the same thing not long ago. There's somethin' a mite strange 'bout him, but I ain't been able to get past that yet."

River looked at Mal piercingly. "Is she being requested to find his truth?"

"I hate to put it to ya, darlin'. But might be it's the best way to get to the heart'a this once and fer all."

She nodded quickly, then bolted her water and walked quietly towards the infirmary.

Jayne gave Mal a slight disapproving glare; clearly he wasn't pleased that Mal would ask his new mei mei to expose herself like this.

Mal finished his coffee, putting the mug in the sink, then walking towards the bridge. He looked over his shoulder, remarking in passing "I ain't happy about it my ownself. S'got to be done though."

* * *

><p>He strode up to the bridge, careful to walk noisily. He saw a flurry of movement as he approached the door, and opened it up.<p>

Zoe Alleyne Washburne sat in the co-pilot seat, somewhat breathless and with her clothes slightly disarrayed.

And Hoban Washburne hurried to straighten his habitual hawaiian shirt, running his hands through his hair to straighten it out. Mal just smirked, walking up behind Wash's chair.

"What's our course look like, Wash?"

"Shiny, Cap'n. We're on our way to Prophet, looks like about 70 hours' worth. Serenity's flyin' smooth so far, no bits fallin' off this time."

"Sounds good, Wash. Just don't crash us into another moon and we'll be set."

Mal turned to walk back to the galley, yelling over his shoulder, "And ya' can get back to whatever yer' doin',"

Zoe hadn't let Wash be alone for practically an hour since his near-miss on Mr. Universe's moon; he'd been pinned to the seat by the harpoon that pierced him under the clavicle. They'd thought he was dead, then nearly had heartattacks themselves when he was wheeled into their recovery room on the Alliance cruiser that had given all of them medical aid. Wash had been deep in shock, and looked dead, which kept the Reavers from eatin' him alive.

Luck, it seemed, had finally smiled on Serenity for the first time that day. Wash had been training River up as a co-pilot, for when she wasn't out on jobs with the rest of the crew. She really needed very little training; she was almost as good as Wash already, and better than him at plotting courses across the 'Verse. But it was nice to have someone else to sit at the wheel on long stretches in the Black.

Now Zoe had apparently been after Wash for a baby, after his near death. They'd been trying, but hadn't been lucky quite yet. It seemed to only be a matter of time though.

He heard Zoe's purposeful stride behind him as he headed back down the corridor.

"Have you talked with our new guest yet?"

"He woke up just a bit ago, but needed more sleep. The Doc put him out for a while. We can probably let him up for dinner; he'll need somethin' to eat I think."

"Did he say anything 'bout the Blue Hands?"

"Nah. I think he was a bit too out to think about it yet. Dislocated shoulder can be mighty painful, 'sides which he was pretty beat up inside from the gorram weapon those Huen Dahns were usin'."

"River on it?"

"..Yea. Ain't no better way to get the answers we need. Don't know how much she'll get while he's out, but it's somethin'."

"Yes, sir."

Mal looked back at Zoe, seeing the lines of care worn into her face, both from the war and since Miranda. He also saw the smile that she still held. He didn't know what she would have done had Wash actually died; probably died of grief her ownself.

"What's eatin you, Zo?"

"It's just…it ain't the first time we've taken on passengers that had checkered pasts. We almost lost Wash from the last time, and we did lose the Shepherd."

"I know. Just…don't know what else we could have done. You don't regret takin' on the Doc and River, do ya?" his voice now sounded as a challenge; she knew she was treading on thin ice with this subject.

"No, sir. Just airin' my thoughts."

"I know Zo, and normally I'd welcome it. Just…it hits too close to home."

"Yes, sir." she said, thankfully shutting up. She headed for her and Wash's bunk; she looked tired, probably from the job._ Sure, that was it._


	3. Chapter 3

When he got to the galley, Kaylee was in the kitchen, preparing supper. "Hiya, cap'n!" she said, with her perpetually sunny cheer.

"Hey, little Kaylee." He saw that River was back up in the galley, helping Kaylee set the table. A small smile caught his eye, tempered with a serious look in her eyes.

_We need to talk._

A small nod answered. _I'd say we do_ he pushed back to her; she'd been teaching him how to frame thoughts for her to understand clearly; she didn't intentionally read the crew anymore, but having someone who could communicate with her clearly (and silently) on jobs helped mightily.

Kaylee continued preparing dinner; everyone on the boat was used to Mal and River's conversations without words.

"What's fer supper tonight?" he asked, peeking at the preparing bowls.

"Just the usual; protein, protein, and more protein. I'm wishin' we could get more'a that tasty beef we had a while back…"

"Next time we head out Meadow way, and we've got the coin, might be I'll consider it." he said, and her face lit up; Meadow was home for Kaylee Frye Tam.

"Shiny, cap'n!"

He grinned despite himself; Kaylee could turn a rainy day into a sunny one by sheer force of will.

"You makin' enough for an extra? Maybehaps our new passenger will be joinin' us."

"'Nara already let me know."

"Shiny, mei mei. Let us know when it's ready."

"Will do, cap'n. Say, you seen Simon lately?"

"I think he's hidin' out in the infirmary right now, hoverin' over our newest stray. You want I should send him up here?"

"Nah, cap'n. Just wonderin'."

He grinned and leaned closer to her, conspiratorially. "Hidin from ya, huh?"

She grinned back; she'd been talking at Simon about a certain subject, and his resolve was starting to falter.

"Lil bit, cap."

"Well, keep workin' at him. Not that I approve of romances on my boat, or anything like that." he snickered; clearly unrepentant about breaking his own rule.

* * *

><p>Mal kicked open his bunk, and slid down the ladder, leaving the hatch open.<p>

He sat down at the small desk, and started looking over the details he had for their job on Prophet. Before too long, he heard his bunk hatch shut and felt her presence in the room.

_Her. His albatross. All his._

He felt her arms circle around his neck again, felt her warmth all up his back; she was a right warm critter, come to think of it. Always kept him comfortable.

_Safe._

"I think he's a former fed, Mal. Hard to pin down; he's got surprising mental defenses. Probably trained, maybe natural."

"I figured on him being a fed. Former fed does change it a bit though."

She smirked, probably an expression she picked up from him.

"I did get a bit of a surface read; some of it 'bout the Hands of Blue." she shuddered involuntarily, and he pulled her around into his lap, wrapping his arms around her, calming her. After a few moments she continued. "Other bits seemed to indicate that he was dishonorably discharged. I got a sense of trust. Of broken faith. Of fear."

"You think he's trustworthy?"

"I do. Doesn't mean he doesn't have secrets though."

"Wouldn't be my ship if he didn't." he wryly grinned. She matched it.

"I'd bet that he'll be ready for somethin' to eat, soon as supper is done. I'll ask 'Nara to go get him." she grinned again, a bit more evilly.

"You saw that too, huh?"

"Normally she is much harder to read. Quite a bit of surface attraction."

"Don't need to be a Reader to see the glint in her eye."

* * *

><p>The light grew in his eyes; seemed that they'd turned the lights down while he slept. His eyes opened slowly, looking about the sterile infirmary, with its featureless white walls and large windows. His knowledge of ship-building came to the fore; "K-64-03 Firefly." he whispered, looking around. The lights came up slowly, triggered by his motion. He looked down at the blanket covering him, and saw his customary black clothing cast aside, covered in dried blood. There was a neat pile of mismatched clothes lying on the counter; a large man's button-up shirt, and a pair of nondescript dark pants.<p>

He began skinning into the clothes; for the moment, forgetting that the doors and windows were wide open and clear. The door abruptly opened, and he spun about, panicked; his arm ached already.

A lovely lady with curly brown hair, in a smooth silk robe and dress, was turning about quickly, a touch of pink blush on her cheeks. He grinned slightly, then slipped on the shirt and buttoned it up.

"It's alright, I'm decent." he gently taunted. Were it not for the blush, he would have sworn that she was a companion.

She turned back around, a bit of a shy smile on her face. "Nothing I haven't seen before, I assure you. My name is Inara Serra. Welcome on board Serenity."

"Thank you. You can call me Jamie, my friends do."

"Well, Jamie, are you feeling hungry?"

"Starved, actually. Haven't eaten all day. Uh…what day is it, anyway?"

"You've been asleep about 6 hours. You've woken just in time for dinner. Come with me."

"Thank you. It isn't often that I get to accompany a Companion to dinner. Never before, actually."

She gave him an odd look at that; "Who says I'm a Companion?"

He smiled. "Your carriage does. Your expressions do. Even your accent. Sihnon, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is. Touched by a few years on the rim, but it never really goes away."

They were silent a moment, walking up to the galley. He pushed up the stairs, looking a touch pained, then pushed on to the galley, Inara holding one hand under his arm.

He entered a brightly lit, brightly colored galley, where 7 people were sitting or on their way to the table. All eyes looked towards the door, and he saw a curious mix of smiles and grimaces, stone faces and curious looks. Two of the men were ones he had met, but the 3 women and the other 2 men were strangers. Well, almost…

"Howdy. Looks like I'm just in time." he drawled, intentionally putting a rim accent into his voice.

"Hi there. I'm Kaylee." piped a cute brunette, with a smile that seemed to provide most of the lighting in the room.

The one that had identified himself as Reynolds earlier stood up, waving him to a seat. "Come on in. We were just sitting down."

Jamie sat, finding himself next to the Serra woman and a blonde man with a slight grin on his face. Jamie scanned the faces more closely, seeing a dark-skinned athletic woman next to the grinning blonde, the Captain, a brown-haired wisp of a girl in wildly clashing clothes that had large eyes, a burly goateed man, the smiling brunette, and the doctor. They all had uniformly curious eyes; some shining with welcome, some still clouded with a distant grief, and others with stone walls behind them. He was introduced to them all; first names only.

His probing look wasn't unnoticed by the young woman at the captain's left though; she seemed to stare right back, seeing right through his head. The smiling brunette asked cheerily, "So what's your name?" As he opened his mouth to answer, the darker-haired young woman intoned in a low voice, "Jamison Clancy Monroe, born on Ariel in 2494, father was Arnold and mother was Liu. Discharged Federal Marshal."

His mouth hung open for about 30 seconds, as they looked at him. Surprisingly, none of them looked shocked at the girl's depth of knowledge.

"You can close your mouth now, son. We know who you are." the captain said.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'd heard about it already, but the story falls far short of the reality."

"And who, exactly, told you what?"

"That would take a bit of explaining. Let me get a few bites, and I'll start."

The table was silent while he ate, only the sounds of silverware and eating; he registered fear, alarm, and even a bit of hostility on their faces. Well, that's to be expected, with this particular crew.

* * *

><p>With the dinner cleared away, he began.<p>

"My name is as the lady said; Jamison Clancy Monroe. I was discharged from the Alliance Marshals 6 months ago. For 6 years previously, I had been a Cortex Investigative Agent in the marshals."

"Cortex whosits?" asked the burly mercenary.

"I worked for the Cortex Investigative Division. Basically, we used cortex records and creative access to gather information and build cases against criminals." He caught a whiff of further hostility then; definitely the right crew.

"Creative Access?" questioned the blonde man, the only one still with a grin.

He had a twinkle in his eye now; "Some might call us hackers. I was one of 6 agents assigned to a new case; this one was top secret and classified. It had to do with 2 fugitives. Incidentally," he turned to the doctor and the slip of a girl, "I recognized you right away, Simon and River Tam." His only response was a pair of hard-edged glares.

"We were assigned immediately following the breakin on Osiris, and the disappearance of Doctor Tam and his cargo off of Persephone. Partial records off of the Cortex from an Agent Dobson indicated that they were on a Firefly named Serenity. Dobson later vanished.

"There was a brief spate of contacts on Regina, with records that had looked cleaned-up regarding an unnamed Firefly near Paradiso and a stolen (and returned) cargo of medicine.

"You really threw us for a loop after the boarding of your ship by Commander Harken; no mention of the fugitives. Quite a trick."

"Well, all it got me was a little spacesick. Nice to be not followed for a while, however brief." Simon murmured.

The others grinned at the memory of having duped Harken, then turned serious as Jamie continued.

"It took us a while to pick up the trail after that, and it was nearly a month after the fact anyways. St. Lucy's hospital. Out of curiousity, who planned that?"

Simon smiled quietly.

"I'd imagine you didn't plan the Blue Hands butting in though."

"No, that was definitely not in the plan." Simon said. The mercenary next to him seemed to grimace, and Jamie thought he read some remorse on his face. Interesting.

"Trail went cold again; some activity out on St. Albans that included calling a corrupt Alliance official's bluff, the theft of a priceless artifact on Bellerophon. The sort of crazy, brilliant schemes we had come to expect."

The expressions changed then; he saw some confusion.

"That's right; you weren't as universally reviled as you thought. I must say, you had people pulling for you that you never expected."

"T'ain't the first time it's happened in our travels, surely won't be the last." Mal said, his face finding a begrudging sense of respect.

"I saw the bounty get offered to Jubal Early." Kaylee got a troubled look on her face at that; Simon turned to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yea, he was a real Huen Dahn. Not the sort we usually liked to deal with. I've heard some real troubling things about him. All true, I expect."

"Wong Ba Duhn got what he deserved." growled Jayne.

"Following that, the trail went cold again. We saw the subliminal broadwaves go out, and the video from New Dunsmuir. We also tracked down a number of shipyard owners and former associates of the crew of Serenity." He heard a growl after that, and literally felt the heat of their anger. "I am truly sorry; we thought they were going to be questioned, not killed. The Operative went way beyond their usual tactics, on orders from Parliament."

"That sunuvabitch killed good friends of ours. Ever see him again, like ta kill him myself."

"I almost did."

"…What?"

"After the Miranda Broadwave, I lost my faith in the government. It had been building, I suppose, for a long time. That was just the tipping point. I began raising hell in the CID; got warned, got busted in rank; I had been a Lt. Commander, ended up a Sergeant. It took a year to get to that point. I got assigned to a little 3 man outpost on Perth, off of Highgate. Had to take a small passenger liner there. I got assigned a roommate in the berth; it was a tall, black man with a Londinium accent." More growls, not necessarily directed at him.

"He began to tell me things; he confirmed Miranda for me. Not the way I would want it confirmed, but it was a way. He also told me about River Tam. He showed me...I saw the videos." His eyes clouded with horror; and Inara put a hand gently on his.

"I am sorry, by the way, Miss Tam. What happened to you is grotesque, barbaric…unspeakable. I'm glad to see you're feeling better, truly glad. I can't help but apologize, no matter whether I was involved or not. I felt stained because of it."

He saw some recognition in her eyes, maybe a measure of forgiveness. She shared a glance with Mal, one that Jamie could see carried an entire conversation in it.

"After that, I couldn't deal with it any longer. I raised holy hell, got discharged by the Marshals, and sent on my way.

"I went to Persephone, found a semi-lucrative job as an independent hacker. All manner of folk looking for somebody offerin' that service. I had been there for almost 5 months, after my discharge, until just this past day, somebody new came knocking. The Blue Hands. Wish I knew why."

The others saw the change in him, as he talked. The rim accent had disappeared, replaced by Ariel, then taking on a hint of Rim again. His shoulders slumped; almost as if they were seeing his pride falling as he spoke.

"So. Here I am. Thank you again, for taking me in, killing the Hands. I don't expect pity, or sympathy. Let me off where you will; I know I had a part in the events that caused you tragedy." He abruptly stood, walking toward the cargo bay.

The others looked up, a mass of emotions and turmoil now. Inara stood, unflappable as ever, and followed. "I'll speak with him."

* * *

><p>"'Tross?"<p>

"He truly felt remorse; I felt his walls falling as he spoke. He isn't now what he once was."

"I'm still not feeling particularly forgivin'." rumbled Jayne. "Huen Dahn as much as admitted his part in all of it."

"Jayne." a look from Mal that carried volumes. He subsided, falling silent.

"I'm not feeling particularly forgivin' myself. But 'Tross thinks we can trust him. It's at least a start. Everyone deserves a chance."

* * *

><p>She stood on the catwalk over the cargo bay, looking over the stacks of crates. "Jamie?"<p>

"Here." she heard a small voice, from behind one of the crates of supplies that had seemed to take up permanent residence in the bay. She came down the stairs, found him huddled against the crate, looking at the deck. She reached under his chin, pulled it up; she saw captive tears in his eyes.

"It's just…I could have done something about it, all through my years as a marshal. It took something that monstrous to pull me out of my funk…what allegiance could possibly be that strong?" She sat down beside him, took one of his hands in both of hers, stroking it gently.

"Do you know, I was an Alliance supporter too, before Miranda. Like you, it had been waning as I learned more about the real 'Verse, all of the parts outside of the Core. I suppose it's human nature to believe in what we're told, until something monstrous enough shakes that belief."

"Still, I can't get that video out of my head, even 6 months after…What they did to that girl…" he broke down, crying silently. She comforted him gently.

"What you haven't seen is her hard path to recovery. It was rocky, and always dangerous…yet now she's mostly recovered. She's learned to control herself, to be herself. She can even share herself with another." Inara said, wistfully at the end.

"She's with the captain. I saw those glances."

"Yes. She had a crush for such a long time, before she was even recovered enough to know it, I think. She could never voice it though. I could see it, see the signs. I could even see that Mal, despite himself, saw it too, and that some small part of him reciprocated. It took my getting shot to spark it off."

"You?"

"I gave up my Companion's license after Miranda…I couldn't reconcile the differences anymore. I joined the crew, started going on jobs, especially the jobs that needed a woman's touch." she winked. "Mal and I circled each other like a binary star, never coming close enough to actually be together. We were forced to be distant, by our own damned pride.

"One of the jobs I was on about a year ago went south; guns started firing. I tried to get down fast, I guess I wasn't fast enough. I got gut shot. Pretty nasty, big-bore weapon.

"I woke up in the infirmary after my surgery. It felt like I was dying. I was getting weaker. I started screaming thoughts to the only person who could hear. River came.

"We cried ourselves out. With what I thought were my last words, I told River to pursue Mal, to make him happy, to do what I couldn't."

"I gather you didn't die."

"When I awoke the next morning, I felt better…I was growing stronger again. I knew, though that what I had talked about with River was the right thing, that it was…not my place to keep Mal from her anymore. We had an understanding. Now Mal is only a close friend, family like anyone else on the boat. As hard as it can be to see him with her, sometimes, I know that I couldn't be for him what she is; an anchor, a guide, a conscience, someone to keep him steady."

He put his own hand over hers now; she smiled, and he smiled back.

"Hey there, folks. Hate to interrupt th' moment, but I gotta talk with our new friend here."

Mal stood over them, Inara saw; and he had that strange look on his face that she had seen a few times before, when the Doctor and River had been invited to stay. She got up, pulling Jamie up with her. "I'll be in the galley if you need me." she said, patting his hand once, and stepping away.

"Captain, I-"

"No need to explain nothin'. 'Nara's a big girl, she can take care of her ownself. What I wanted to ask, was...what are you plannin' from now on?"

"…I don't know. I'm sure I'm probably wanted on Persephone now; maybe with the Alliance as well. Certainly not welcome in the Core anytime soon."

"I'm askin', because…well, if you're wantin' somethin' to do, might be that we can provide it. Times are we come up against a job that we just ain't trained for; we're all pretty good at beating locks and security systems, but we're mostly better gunhands than that. Could be that you could find a place here." Mal grinned slightly, remembering the last time he'd had this conversation.

"Captain. I recognize that you're sincere, but…how do you know you can trust me?"

"I don't suppose there's any guarantees there. Ain't something we haven't dealt with before, though. Treat with us fair, and we'll treat with you fair; cut you in, care for your hurts, keep you warm and safe like one of us. Cross us, draw the Alliance or Blue Hands on us, and you take a long walk out a short airlock. Dohn Ma?" Jamie was surprised at how quickly the Captain's 'warm' voice became as cold as space.

"Dang Ran."

"Then welcome aboard. Kaylee will get you fixed up with a bunk, that is if you're fine with leaving the infirmary tonight."

"That bed is as hard as the ground. I think I'm ready."

Mal grinned, walking back up to the galley, where everybody was waiting to hear the news.


	4. Chapter 4

Jamie Monroe sat at the copilot chair, looking out at the Black periodically as he worked on something on the Cortex.

It was 1am ship's time; Jamie had come to enjoy the quiet of the late bridge shift, and took to keeping the watch 5 or 6 times a week. He was a night owl anyways, and didn't need more than 4 or 5 hours a night to keep healthy, so it made sense.

His first 4 weeks on Serenity had passed like a tornado. He'd been buffeted about by events outside his control for so long, and getting used to the routine on Serenity had been hard compared to his formerly freewheeling life. It almost reminded him of being back in the Marshals.

First he had recovered. For a few days, he ached from head to toe. He tried to help here and there, cooking, clearing, even trying to help Jayne in the cargo bay, but always ended up winded and exhausted, until Simon had ordered him to rest.

Finally, once recovered, he resolved to earn his keep. The first chance came on Prophet. On a simple pickup of certain rare valuables from the vaults of Lord Banrutten, a local land-owner, Jamie had his first test under fire. He accompanied River and Zoe into the house, while Mal and Jayne kept the perimeter and waited for the guards. Mal had figured before picking up Jamie that River would need to clear the vaults, but Jamie handled it in less than a minute; breaking through the 3 cycle electronic tumbler lock with relative ease.

They emptied the vault and made a clean getaway, with Jamie deleting the database entry of their arrival on planet and rearming the trigger of the security system before they left.

Even the captain had been impressed at the speed of the break-in; he'd figured on 20 or 30 minutes in the house, and on having to fight their way out through the private guards. Instead, they'd been in only 4 and a half minutes, and missed the guards entirely, getting off planet before the alarms even sounded.

Jamie had definitely earned his cut that day, and the payoff was good when they got back to Persephone; very good, because due to the lack of outcry over the theft, Badger'd given them a 25% bonus.

"S'good to see a job fin'ly go smooth, Cap'n Reynolds. If'n yer int'rested, might be I'll have a better job end o' tha month. Not sure it's in yer field, but ye'll get first take."

"Pleasure doin' business, Badger."

"So, Mally, I see ya 'ave a new face on yer crew. May that be th' reason this'n went smooth?"

"Maybehaps. Is it gonna be a problem?"

Badger grinned, snickering at Mal's discomfiture. "Mal, 'oo do you think 'ired 'im fer jobs afore 'e disappeared off planet?"

Jamie grinned too; it was entertaining to see the captain splutter.

* * *

><p>The crew had a good meal that night, with fresh food; the payday had been enough to stock up things had needed stocking for a while, parts they'd been desperate for, and enough to spare to give them a bit of leeway in looking for the next job.<p>

For the first time since he got on the boat, the crew seemed to be acting normally around him; he guessed that he'd proven himself for the first time. The crew had stayed in for the night, Persephone not being quite safe enough to go out drinking or partying, especially for someone with possible warrants for his arrest. Kaylee had cooked, showing more than a bit of talent for the skill. Jamie heard some of the stories first-hand that he'd only read about on the Cortex, could finally put faces to the names and events. He also looked forward to getting to know these strangers that he had thought he knew so well.

He was already pretty tight with Wash; the quirky blonde pilot had been delighted to find that Jamie's reserved and deadpan exterior masked a lively sense of humor and a prankster streak a mile wide. Kaylee and Wash (and occasionally River) had already been accomplices in a few pranks, from shortsheeting the captain's bunk and completely rearranging the infirmary while Simon was having lunch, to switching Jayne's girly mags with wedding catalogs borrowed from Kaylee. Getting friendly with Jayne had been harder; after covering him with temporary fake tattoos (unicorns and rainbows, of course) while he was drunk, Jayne had come looking for some payback; only to find that Jamie wasn't just a skinny computer geek. He'd been trained in at least a few esoteric combat disciplines. Jayne's strength and endurance had matched well against Jamie's speed and agility, and the two had come out with about the same amount of bruises, as well as quite a bit of mutual respect. The captain had put a moratorium on pranks following that, with a possible airlock threat.

Mal and Zoe were far cooler; he knew they were former Independents, and not likely to take too kindly to any Fed, even a former one. Still, they'd treated him fairly, and that was more than he could have expected. Probably _should_ have expected it from this crew though.

Simon was quite a bit kinder; although clearly a bit angry at Jamie having been on the team that hounded him and his sister relentlessly, he could also feel a kindred spirit, someone else who had found shelter under Serenity's wing in a time of need.

River had been leery, at first, but soon took to him as someone she could treat as an equal; it wasn't often that someone showed a talent greater than hers at something. His training in several hand-to-hand combat styles was also strangely familiar to her; many of his motions mirrored her own. His natural mental defenses also meant that she couldn't read him very well, even intentionally, and that was strangely comforting to her. He was someone she had to ask how he was feeling, what he was thinking…it was something of a novelty.

Inara had been the most unexpected surprise of all; she was kind, comforting, and beautiful. Already, he'd begun taking bridge watch duties in the late night, and found that Inara was a bit of an insomniac herself. He began to look forward to seeing her at night, when they could just talk, without worrying about anyone else butting in.

Jamie wasn't a fool, he could see the interest in her eyes. He just wasn't sure of himself. She was without a doubt a desirable woman who seemed to be at peace with where she was and what she was doing; yet what could she possibly want with him, a wanted hacker?

* * *

><p>They had several legal haulage contracts in the next few weeks, Persephone to Regina to Alexandria to Ares; nothing particularly that required his special talents, but Jamison did get a chance to sharpen up his pistol aim on the moon they had dropped the last shipment on. He was able to pick up a decent gun on Ares, near Boros; the medium-framed 9mm semi-automatic that Jayne had suggested fired like a dream; probably the first handgun he'd ever shot halfway well with.<p>

* * *

><p>The lights had dimmed and the air cooled down with the coming of a night cycle on Serenity. Inara strode silently up the corridor, through the galley, her mind on the person in the bridge.<p>

She'd met plenty of Alliance officers and core world aristocrats, had contracted with most of them, and seen all of the sorts of men there were to see in the 'Verse; cowards, villains, heroes, warriors, princes, merchants, rugged old men and frightened boys.

Yet this was the second man she'd ever met who was an enigma to her. The first had been Malcolm Reynolds. She recalled a conversation she had with Shepherd Book once; "Why are you so fascinated with him?" "Because he's something of a mystery. Why are you?" "Because so few men are."

This man was quite similar to Mal, in many ways, she realized; even when he seemed to be speaking clearly, he spoke in cryptic detail. He was passionate about his beliefs, yet seemed to be without faith. The only real difference between them was where they were born and which side they'd ended up on.

An image passed through her mind, of Jamison's smoothly muscled body and cunning grin, as she caught him dressing in the infirmary the first night he was aboard. She felt a flutter through her belly; surely a trained Companion (well, former Companion) couldn't be shy?

* * *

><p>Jamie felt the scent of cinnamon waft into the room. He smiled slightly, keeping his eyes on the Black.<p>

"Good evening. Or, I suppose, morning. Come on in, Miss Serra."

"Oh, please, Jamie. You've been aboard a month now. Call me Inara." she chided gently.

"Okay; Inara. Come to keep me up through the night watch?" _Oof…bad choice of words._

"I wouldn't want you to fall asleep, now would I?" she grinned, curling up at the navigator's seat. _Or not..._

He grinned back, a devastating grin that made her belly flutter again. "I suppose not."

"What are you doing there?" she asked, peeking around his shoulder.

"I'm trying to get rid of the warrants out for me and anyone else on the boat from when you found me. Been about a month now, should have fallen to the backs of everyone's minds."

She sat, shocked, for a moment. "You can hack into the Marshal's warrant database?"

"Who do you think designed it?" he smirked.

She marveled at this man; only a month with them, and he was already looking out for them.

She let him work for 5 minutes, tension mounting in her as she waited for something to go wrong. Instead, he clapped his hands once and spun in the chair, like an excited schoolboy. "Got it!" he crowed. She got up, excited for him and for all of them; she bent to kiss him on the cheek. Well, she meant to kiss him on the cheek. He turned abruptly, and her lips met his. He froze for a tense moment, then deepened the kiss, first putting a hand behind her neck, then as she made little sounds of need, pulled her down to his lap. They kissed like that for a few minutes, oblivious to the world around them. Too late, she heard soft footpads climbing the stairs to the bridge, and panicked, pulling away from him. She whirled, to see River climbing nimbly into the pilots chair, wearing a sleepshirt and shorts.

She grinned at the two; she'd been feeling Inara's confusion and infatuation all evening, then caught the peak of emotion when they'd first kissed. She even felt the embarassment coming from Jamie. Sleepless herself this night, she'd decided to give Inara what she needed.

"I'll take the rest of the watch."

The two paused for a moment, and River said "Scoot!", shooing them off.

* * *

><p>River switched control over to the pilot's console, watching as Inara reached out to Jamie, and taking him by the hand, led him out of the bridge. She could feel their procession through the ship, bumping off of bulkheads and climbing awkwardly downstairs, towards the passenger dorms. She could feel the passion radiating off of Inara, could sense Jamison's confusion and bemusement, but also acceptance.<p>

After a few minutes, her eyes widened, and her heart beat a little faster; she forced herself to back away, to put up her own walls. She didn't want to be a voyeur like that. _I may need to try that one, _she thought with an evil grin. She knew she'd have to tell Kaylee about this, if no-one else. She'd love to know.

_'Course, the whole ship may know by morning anyways,_ she thought as she heard a moaning cry, even this far from the passenger dorms.

* * *

><p>Inara curled up on her side, resting her head on Jamie' firm shoulder as he slept peacefully, arm comfortably pressing on her back. Finally sated, she looked at his face now, with doubt swirling in her mind.<p>

_What am I doing? I barely even know this man, and just spent the night with him, doing things I'd normally get paid to do._

His eyes opened a slit, and he turned his head, his piercing green eyes seeming to pick the questions out of her head. On reflection, though, he probably just read her face.

"We'll go as fast or as slow as you want, bao bei." he whispered gently. "I ain't goin' nowhere." He grinned, that devastating grin that gave her butterflies. This time, though, she just felt warmth spread throughout her body. She snuggled closer, clinging to him like an anchor.

* * *

><p>Kaylee and River were chattering excitedly in the galley as breakfast cooked; the others hadn't quite filtered up into the galley yet, but would no doubt be on their way.<p>

Mal strode in, looking for somebody; seemed everybody was a lazybones on his boat today. 'Course, who coulda slept through that racket last night?

"Hey, Tross, Kaylee." he mumbled.

"Good morning!" River shrieked, indecently chipper. Mal grimaced, shutting his eyes against the noise, and put a hand to his forehead.

"'Morning, cap'n." Kaylee said, for once not the brightest in the room.

"Seen hide or hair of anyone else yet today? Sorta 'specting to see Jamie setting up breakfast."

"Nobody's been up and about yet. River took bridge watch last night." Kaylee giggled.

"Was wonderin' where you went, bao bei. Kaylee, was that you and Simon last night? Never been kept up all night like that. I may need to see to soundproofing yer bunk." he snarked, with his _I am Captain, and I am not happy_ face on.

"No Cap'n, weren't us. Simon was tired out before we even got to midnight," she winked.

"I can't be hearin' that! Then who…oh, no." he said, seeing the grin on River's face.

* * *

><p>Jamie and Inara climbed the ladder to the galley a few steps apart, circumspectly separating as they reached the top. As they entered the galley, 7 faces turned to look at them, conspicuously silent. They looked like deer in headlights, as they saw the glee on some faces, bleary eyes, and disheveled appearance.<p>

After a few moments, everyone burst out roaring with laughter. Inara giggled self-consciously, and Jamie rolled his eyes, shaking his head, then gallantly took her arm and escorted her to the table.

After a few minutes for everyone to calm down, Jamison spoke up.

"So Cap'n, what's the plan? I know we're on course for Persephone, but wasn't sure what job you had in mind."

"Got a 'Wave from Badger, said he's got that special job he mentioned last time we were at Persephone. Wasn't more specific than that."

"Sir?" Zoe asked, a look of concern on her face. "Not that it ain't like Badger to be mysterious about the jobs he's offerin'…but do you have any notion of what it's about?"

"'Fraid not, Zo. He wouldn't say more 'bout it last time; all he said was it weren't quite in our field."

Jamison smiled. "I think I know what he's talking about…he asked me about it before the-well, before I met y'all."

"What manner of job is it?"

"Actually, from what I could see, seemed to be similar to Lord Banrutten's estate; it's a 'second story job' with high security. Actually a Fed installation on New Kasmir. Not sure what Badger's after on this trip; but his particular tastes in mind, it's likely some kind of high-tech toy. The place is actually an Alliance research installation."

Simon looked up, concerned.

"Don't worry, doc. I don't believe it's anything like the Ac-well, it's not like that. I think the place is more of a technical research facility, a testbed for newtech."

"How in the gorram guai are we supposed to break into a high security Alliance installation and make off with some high tech Da Chung Wu Dahn?"

"I think he was going to suggest me, if he offered you the job. That is, before I got that knock on my door. This way, should be even easier. The place has considerable layered electronic security; computer-controlled access, sensor-controlled air defense system, the works. Should be easy enough to get through given the right preparations beforehand. Hell, you were able to sneak right into St. Lucy's Hospital with barely anyone the wiser a few years ago, and that was without my help." He grinned cockily.

"Well, we'll see what Badger has to say. Might be I'll be talkin' with ya once we get the job, see what needs done before we get there."

"Dang Ran, Cap'n."

"And Inara, leave the boy alone tonight so he gets some sleep. Can't have him plannin' tired."

Inara just blushed.

Jamie grinned. "Plannin' tired's where all the fun is."

Jayne piped in, "Hey, any time we get to use a plan that's not a Mal plan, I'm down."

"Hey! That last job went fine!"

"That's cuz it didn' go 'ccordin' to yer plan. Didn' get shot nearly enough times."

Jamie just grinned as the banter around the table picked up again.


	5. Chapter 5

They showed up at Badger's lair right on schedule, pushing through the busy crowds of Eavesdown. Jayne, River, and Jamie had accompanied Mal on this meet.

"Mally, old boyo. Yer even punctual. I'm beginnin' ta like you agin."

"Mornin, Badger."

"And you, love; you still shackin wi' this old pirate?"

"Almost one year now. If I ever decide to trade him in, you'll be the first to know." River smiled sweetly at Badger; she was part of the reason the crime boss had been treating them better lately; no point in pissing him off.

"And I am not a pirate, I am a Gentleman Thief." Mal groused.

"I knew I liked 'er fer a reason." he grinned. "Well, Mal. Ye're int'rested in me little job?"

"Always lookin' to line up some excitin' new crime." Mal drawled, still a touch nervous; Badger was never this pleasant. He made a conscious effort to relax his hands; guess he was still a bit tetchy about Badger's interest in River.

"Well, this 'uns gonna be tricky, no doubt. I got other crews willin' to work fer me, but none of 'em got your propensity fer gettin' a job done no matter what."

"Just tell us the job, Badger. We're already here, don' need to trick us inta comin'."

"Well, s'on New Kasmir. Little 'liance research station, no more than probably 20 guards on site. Open business park surrounding; place's s'posed ta be covert. Electronic security out th' Pi Gu, plenty'o air defense. Might be ye'll need to get in on the ground.

"I'm wantin' this." he held up a flimsy, which displayed a number of pieces of some indecipherable technology.

"Just out of curiousity, does it go Boom or make us bleed out the Pi Gu?" Jayne drawled.

"Neither, actually. No point in hidin' it; it's a little hard light projector 'n computer combo. Me boys're champin' at the bit fer it. The other li'l bits're new defensive tech, to increase scan range and somesuch. Don't know all th' specifics, the buyer's a might tetchy. Time ain't a problem 'ere; just don't get yerselves caught'r identified. Could be trouble. Tha's all I got, Mal." He handed over the flimsy. "Keep it fer reference. Oh, do ya mind if'n I talk ta yer new crew?" Badger grinned.

"Don't be long, Jamie. Got some fancy new crime to do, need yer input on it."

"Sure thing. I'll be along in a minute."

* * *

><p>"Well, Jamie. Yer' travelin' wi' Mal Reynolds now."<p>

"That I am, Badger."

"Any part'cular reason?"

"They're the ones who picked up my Pi Gu off the streets after cold-cocking th' Blue Hands followin' me."

"Ah. Thought so. 'Eard you'd been havin' trouble with 'em. Well, be careful; saw that th' warrants fer yer arrest disappeared off th' Cortex," Badger smirked, "but somebody's got some eyes and ears on the Docks. Don't go about alone, don't linger."

"Thanks fer the warnin', Badger."

"No prb'lem. Gots ta be lookin' out fer me friends."

The others were waiting just outside, watching the crowds. Only River looked back, with an odd look at Jamie. (Of course, those were usually the only looks she gave.)

"I've never seen Badger to act affectionate, except with me, and that's because he's sweet on me." she whispered to him.

He spoke in a low voice to her, aside from the others, "I did a few favors for Badger, closed up his Cortex security, that kind of thing. Don't go spreadin' it around to the others."

She nodded.

* * *

><p>Back on Serenity, they gathered around the table to plan their attack.<p>

"Alright, Jamie. Sounds like you'll have stage center on this job. What do ya have in mind?" Mal drawled; it was another test of the young man.

"First off, we'll have to beat the air defense net. No small task. Kaylee, I may need your help setting up a small ECM system. Something to spoof their detection grid. We'll have to take the ship black on the way in, until just before landing; we can make her look like a meteor coming in, on a shallow axis."

"Ya sure that doesn't sound _exceptionally dangerous?_"

"It's a time-honored trick. You should know, you were in the war."

"Me and Zo' were ground-pounders, not Angels. Didn't learn to fly 'til after U-Day."

"He's right, though, Mal. Meteor-dropping was used quite a bit during the war for covert insertions. Makes a pretty good way of hiding the power-up signature and your descent. Just need a solid enough hull with an outer layer coat. Serenity's definitely built to take that kind of punishment." Wash said, finally weighing in on the idea. He seemed to relish the chance to try out a new infiltration technique.

"Once we get down, I have this, which should help us get in." He pulled out a portable data pad with a cortex processor. "I can hack the access control system, get us entry, and then clear the entry code so it looks like it never happened. Once we're in, there may be security checkpoints and surveillance; should be child's play to clear."

"Then the vaults."

"Yea." he pointed at the layout on the data pad. "I'll probably need River's help with it; it's a combination electronic and physical tumbler, precisely to stop someone like me from doing this alone. That means at least River and I have to be on the internal team, along with probably Zoe; she can move lightly on her feet. Wash, you'll be keeping Serenity ready to go, along with Kaylee. Inara and Simon, we'll probably need you waiting in the bay for casualties; the stuff we'll be carrying shouldn't be heavy or big, but with 20 or so guards on the base, gun exchanges are a big possibility, no matter how much I lock down the systems. Our best bet is to lead with knockout gas or possibly tear gas; we should be able to pick up some on Persephone from a guy I know."

"What else ya think we'll need? Should get our shopping done soon." Mal peeked into his coin pouch, wondering how much this would cost him.

"May need a transmission booster, to get started on hacking their systems before we ever get there; makes it a might easier to get in when the door's unlocked already."

"Alright. Zoe and Jamie, go meet that guy you know and grab the knockouts, however much you think we'll need fer the job and maybe a few extra. Such things might come in a might handy in other places. Kaylee, find out what parts you'll need to upgrade Serenity fer the job; Wash, help her out, you should have some idea of what'll work. Jayne, I'll go with you to make sure our ammo is up to snuff. L'il Albatross, keep the lights on. Inara and Simon, might be that we'll need some extra supplies on this run. We've got the coin, so let's make sure we've got the stuff we'll need."

There were nods of assent around the table as everyone got up to get to work.

Mal pulled Jamie aside as he was leaving to go with Zoe. "You sure about this? Wouldn't be the first time Badger'd put us up against somethin' we're not really in the league of." Mal's silent question went unremarked: _Can we trust you?_

"I think it's definitely possible. Nothing's sure, you know that. But I think it's worth the risk." _Yes, you can._

Mal nodded once, with a wry look on his face. "Best get to work then."

* * *

><p>The next few days went by in a flash; Jamie and the others were all busy, stocking and prepping the infirmary, cleaning and loading up the weapons in the armory (and all of their personal weapons), extensively modifying the transmission beacon and cortex systems on Serenity, and putting a thin outer layer on Serenity's underhull to take the heat strain of the reentry. Kaylee and Wash worked on speeding up Serenity's power-up time, and another few tricks to see if they could get away from this one in one piece if it went south on them.<p>

The preparation complete, they set off for New Kasmir. It would be a 40 hour ride, 25 of it on a 70% burn. The whole crew was worn out from the work, with most retiring to their bunks soon after dinner on the first day of the burn. Jamison had too much on his mind to sleep just yet; he took the late bridge watch again, looking out at the Black and letting his mind wander. He was so enthralled in his wanderings that he missed the light footsteps on the stair, the cinnamon scent on the air. A pair of soft arms circled around his neck, and a pair of soft lips kissed his cheek. "Finally, we get a chance to be alone."

"Hey, bao bei." he whispered, turning into her kiss.

"I thought you might be avoiding me." she said, a twinkle in her eyes belying her serious face.

"Now why would I want to do that?" he _grinned._

"Mm, I can't think of a reason." she murmured, as she curled up on his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "I wouldn't mind it if River came up here and interrupted us again," she snickered. "Problem is, I heard some strange noises coming out of _her_ bunk."

"Seems they've got the right idea. I'll see about getting a night off soon."

"You'd be surprised at how a Companion can make do with where she is." she giggled.


	6. Chapter 6

The tension mounted after the engines went quiet; as they were in the Black, the ship could go on forever on this trajectory, so coming in without the characteristic Firefly plasma stream was to their benefit. The retroburn was timed to go off just before they entered the detection threshold of the outer sensor grid, then the ship was shut down except for minimal systems. Jamison began working on the Cortex signal into the facility's defensive systems, working at the lowest transmission power possible. Actually, it was a bit more complicated than that; he was bouncing off of 2 different satellites and a skyplex, with a transmission scrambler active on Serenity, so that no direct evidence would exist of her transmission.

The outer sensor grids were shut down by the time the ship hit atmo; Wash and River were rigid with concentration as they focused on the descent through the outer atmosphere, while Jamison worked quickly to take down the inner air defenses. Just as they felt the detection threshold of the X band radar that guided the missiles from the facility, the radar went dark.

Phase 1 was complete. Serenity came alive now, descending at a speed far greater than normal, her lower hull glowing brightly as the newly installed altanum surface protected the inner hull. The engine pods swivelled to slow their descent, just enough to make it safe but not enough to ruin the meteoric effect. Mal was standing behind River now, his hands gently resting on her shoulders, as Wash slowly brought the ship to a hover just hundreds of feet off the surface of the moon, within running distance of the facility. Just before the Firefly ship broke out of the low cloud cover, the lights and cameras covering the outside blanked out.

The front cargo door opened most of the way, and 5 shadows ran out into the night, all outfitted in black.

Mal and Jayne were the only ones wearing heavy weaponry, Mal carrying a big 10 gauge sawed-off shotgun mounted with a box magazine, and Jayne carried Vera as usual, along with a few grenades. Both men carried their customary sidearms, along with small sub-machine guns slung over their shoulders. The others, Zoe, Jamie, and River, were armed lightly, only carrying sidearms and knives, although Zoe had her trusty Mare's Leg. Jamie led the others to the side entrance of the facility, and while Jayne and Mal mounted a guard here, Jamie pulled out his Cortex tablet and broke the encryption on the outer door. It slid open quietly, part-way; the three slid sideways through it and into the now-darkness of the blackened facility.

They had agreed on radio silence during the mission; radio signals could be picked up and would give away the secrecy of the mission. Mal and Jayne watched silently, behind cover just outside the doors, waiting for the signal from the internal team that would call for evac.

So far, so good.

River, Jamie, and Zoe moved like ghosts through the darkened facility; their face masks and goggles firmly set in place, they reached the first security checkpoint. Jamie quickly set to work popping the remaining locks within the facility. River could feel 3 minds through the door. As soon as the door popped open, she flung 2 gas canisters in, and 5 seconds later they heard 3 thuds.

So far, no alarms had been triggered; _Maybe this can work after all,_ Jamie thought, in an outer compartment of his focused mind. River shot him a glare at that; he could almost hear her say _Don't jinx it yet!_

The second checkpoint was staffed more heavily; she could hear 5 panicked and enraged minds as they floundered about, trying to open the doors, trying to do anything. The door popped, and another 2 canisters of Paraxin Trichlorin hissed unconsciousness into the air.

2 checkpoints left. Only 2 minutes into the facility, and they were nearly there.

After another 3 minutes and 4 canisters, 18 guards were unconscious on the floor, not to awaken for another hour. No shots had been fired. They reached the vaults; here, there was a physical combination multiple tumbler lock linked into a biometric access denial system. River set to work on the tumblers, following Jamie's progress in her mind (he was working on letting down the walls for missions like this; it was to his advantage that she could hear him in these cases.) At exactly the same moment, after a few tense sections where Jamie hit setbacks on the encryption, they popped the locks and the vault door hissed, unsealing to open.

They went in and began grabbing everything they could find, putting them into specially prepared Faraday cage bags for transport (the transmission-shielded cases would prevent the tracking signals or detonation signals from reaching the devices.) With the vaults practically cleared out, they sealed up the cases and began taking them out. Jamie paused at the terminal outside the door; plugging in his datapad through a scrambler, he began erasing all evidence of their entry, and all evidence of the gadgets' existence; he also disarmed all of the security systems by deleting their programming, making it impossible to bring back up any time soon. By prearrangement, River and Zoe began toting the gear out.

A tingle hit Jamie for a second, almost like a touch of precognition, and he had just entered the final code lines and begun detaching his gear when a shot winged towards his head, whiffing through his hair as he ducked quickly. Almost by accident, he held up the cortex pad in front of him as 2 more shots rang out, from different sources; the hardened plastic and metal case of the pad held up quite well, considering both shots would have been head-shots.

He quick-drew his 9mm in his left, aiming and firing just as another shot crashed through his right shoulder, just at the top of the rib cage. He bellowed in pain, forcing his good arm to aim to the second guard, triggering off another double-tap that dropped the Alliance troop.

He dropped to his knees, his shoulder burning, and his left thigh grazed. Gorramit, 20, there were 20 guards!

They had just reached the outer door when River screamed in pain; she felt the shot hit Jamie and crash through his shoulder. She handed off the cases to Jayne and Mal, and rushed back through the door before anyone could stop her. She returned 2 minutes later, with Jamie slung over her shoulder in a rough fireman's carry; he had collapsed unconscious before reaching the second checkpoint. They didn't have time to switch loads; they ran as fast as they could to the open doors of Serenity, with the bay doors closing just behind them, and Serenity taking off simultaneously.

The others dropped the cases containing the gadgetry, and Jayne eased Jamie's weight off of River before she fell, taking both down with her.

Simon rushed in, with Inara trailing right behind; as soon as he saw the injury, he yelled "Infirmary!" and took off back towards the infirmary doors. Jayne hurried over, holding the lighter man like a baby, setting him down gently on the infirmary bed.

"Oh, God, Jamie!" Inara sobbed; she held onto his good hand, and thought she felt a squeeze of reply, before his hand went limp.

"Jayne, get her out of here, I need the space to work. And get River." Simon ordered in his Doctor voice, brooking no disagreement. The others were in the common area outside of the infirmary, waiting tensely; Zoe came over, taking Inara by the arm and sitting down on the couch with her as she sobbed. River immediately went into the infirmary and closed the door behind her.

"Jayne, go and get the gear stowed in the hideyholes. Don't want none of it sitting around if'n we need to stop at a port." Jayne paused a moment, looking towards the broad windows of the infirmary, then nodded, setting off to the cargo bay. Mal set off to the bridge, to fill Wash in on what had happened. He noticed a cracked and broken plastic panel on the floor; bending over to pick it up, he realized it was the Cortex pad that Jamie had brought on board with him. Gorram thing had saved his life, Mal realized; the two bullet divots had cracked the screen, ruining the device, but stopping before they penetrated. _Guess I know what to get him fer his birthday_, Mal pondered; _If he has another._ The darker thought seemed to darken the whole ship as she burst out of atmo, and Wash set her to full burn. By prearrangement, they were to head to Persephone; from there, they were only a hop from Ariel or Osiris at this time of year, if they needed a hospital.

"Wash." Mal walked onto the bridge. Wash looked up at him, concern written on his face; he had seen River carrying the limp form up onto the ship, and hadn't been able to see well enough to know who it was.

"What happened?"

"Jamie got hit. Missed the last two guards in the gorram place as they were finishing with the vault."

"Damn." Wash breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Zoe, tempered with concern for Jamie...and Inara.

"Get us to wherever quick as you can; probably Persephone to drop off these very hot and very stolen goods, then if the Doc thinks we'll need it, we can head to a planet with a decent hospital."

"Aye aye, sir." _God, I hope it turns out alright,_ Wash silently prayed.

* * *

><p>They waited silently in the common room for more than 3 hours, Mal and Jayne pacing, and finally sitting restlessly in the chairs when they tired of pacing. Inara sobbed into Zoe's and Kaylee's arms until she couldn't cry any longer, then she sat silently, staring through the windows into the Infirmary as Simon and River worked to save his life.<p>

_Shouldn't have been that bad of a shot,_ Mal thought. _Maybe hit the lung, and that could be a problem, but...stupid Huen Dahn didn't stop doin' what he was doin' til he was done. Stubborn to a fault._ Mal smirked, careful not to look towards Inara, lest she see his face. _Like somebody I know._

They all looked up as the door opened, and Simon walked out, stripping off the gloves and removing the surgical apron. "Not my neatest work, but he should be fine." he said, smiling slightly. Inara leapt up and tackled him, hugging him tightly, sobbing gladly into his shoulder. He gently disengaged her, and looked up to the others. "It was a near thing, and he lost a lot of blood, but we were able to jigsaw his shoulder back together and repair the lung. There may have been some nerve damage, but a bit of physical therapy should help with that. He's barely awake right now, but he needs to sleep. Inara," he looked down at her now, "you can sit in with him if you want, but be gentle with him, his bones need to knit and the stitches need to hold." She nodded silently, then went in and sat on the chair River had left beside the bed. Jamie looked over at her slightly, and gave her that _grin_, tempered as it was with pain. "Hey bao bei," he whispered. A single tear ran down her cheek, but with his good arm, he caught it on a finger and wiped it away. "Glad to see you again."

She kissed him gently on the cheek, then on the lips. "So am I. And you need to get some rest. I'll be right here beside you."

"Sounds like a plan." he whispered, then his eyes closed and his mouth hung slightly open, gently snoring in sleep. She leaned against his good shoulder, holding his good hand, and dropped off herself.

The others looked through the window for a few seconds at the scene, then turned to go to their own rest. Kaylee smiled, and took Simon's hand to lead him to their bunk. Serenity went into sleep mode as the night cycle began.


	7. Chapter 7

Kaylee put some breakfast onto a tray and headed to the infirmary. She paused at the window, smiling at the pair of them, arms entangled as much as they could be, 'Nara's head leaning against his good shoulder. Both had peaceful smiles on their faces.

She knocked quietly, and Inara roused, seeing Kaylee at the door with a tray. She waved, and Kaylee came in, setting the tray on Inara's lap and whispered "_I'll take over if you need to get cleaned up._"

Inara just shook her head, smiling gently. "_I'll take care of him._"

Kaylee left, beaming her usual sunny smile.

Inara gently touched his face, and he slowly woke up; he smiled at her, saying "Do I smell something good?"

"I hope so, bao bei. Not sure who cooked this morning." she grinned cheekily.

"Well, it's food. Not sure it could go much wrong."

"Clearly you haven't eaten Simon's cooking. Boy could burn water."

"Hey, I don't bash the guy who puts me back together again."

"I always knew you were smart." she bantered back. It wasn't much more than scrambled eggs (powdered) and sausage-flavored protein, but it tasted like ambrosia to Jamie, who hadn't eaten since lunch the previous day.

* * *

><p>3 days into his forced convalescence, he was feeling a mite ornery; the infirmary bed wasn't any more comfortable than the last time he'd been on it, and it certainly wasn't big enough to do what he wanted on it. Kaylee had rigged a spare cortex panel in the infirmary so that he could do some work while still recovering; fortunately his brand of work was far less physical than the others' and could be done while injured. It wasn't quite that easy to do with one arm though, and he couldn't do much more than surf.<p>

Finally the doctor got sick of his bellyaching and let him be moved back to his room in the passenger dorms. Kaylee moved the cortex panel, and he spent another 2 days slightly more comfortable, with Inara wrapped around him at night.

Finally, 5 days after being shot, he was feeling almost human. The right arm was still a mite weak, and he had it in a sling, but he could travel around the ship now.

Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and River went to the meet with Badger two days after leaving New Kasmir. Handing over the items he'd requested in their Faraday cage bags, the crime boss was clearly impressed.

"Didn' even hear a peep over the Cortex; how'th guai did ya pull this 'un off, Mally old boyo?"

"Had a bit of help from our resident hacker."

"Plus, Mal didn't plan the job." Jayne piped in, earning a glare and three laughs.

"Hey, it didn't get me shot, but you're forgetting Jamie."

"Shuh ma? M'boy Jamie got tagged?"

"He's fine, Badger. Recovering in the infirmary. Broke his fancy little cortex panel though, thought he was gonna tear up when he saw it."

"Shuh ma?"

"Gorram thing saved his life. I think it caught 2 bullets that were meant for his head."

"Wong Ba Duhn. Boyo was born lucky."

"That he was, Badger."

"Anyways, here's the rest of the cut." Badger handed over a solid sack of coin; _I could get used to jobs like this,_ Mal thought. The sack even felt a touch heavy.

"Only if they involve us not getting shot, Mal." River whispered, an angry touch to her words.

_Crap. I'm sleepin' on the couch tonight, aren't I?_ he thought. "Yes you are." she whispered again, all sweetness and light.

"Domestic troubles, Mally?" Badger grinned.

"Everyone's makin' a fuss."

* * *

><p>"What exactly happened, Commander?"<p>

"Our security systems were turned off from an external source. We're still not sure how. Somebody with either extremely good information or a very good hacker broke into our security systems, opened them wide, then cleared all evidence they were there. They even shut down our security systems for good, deleted every single program. It'll take weeks to sort this mess out.

"Then, it gets better; they came in on a ship, we're guessing, but there's no record of a ship entry on any of the local sensor systems, including our own. We're not trusting those systems though, as they were turned off on the way in. The nearest town with radar reported a meteor strike near us though. They broke through 4 different security checkpoints and 18 Federal troops, none of whom got a good look at their assailants before they were knocked out by a drug we guess was Paraxin Trichlorin. The vault got cleared out, and all of the local records of the contents were deleted. Some gunfire got exchanged, and the remaining 2 Federal troops were killed by extremely precise double-taps. We found bullet casings, a few shards of plastic, probably from a portable terminal, and a good deal of blood."

"Blood? This is extremely significant. Surely you realized it could be used for evidence?"

"Of course. We took samples and put them into storage. Most of the blood was from our own troops, but the rest of it was tested for DNA. Results came back as inconclusive."

"And was that all, Commander?"

"Well, somebody made off with all of our Gorram research, and we're mad as hell."

"That is irrelevant, Commander." A blue hand reached into a pocket, and pulled out a silver cylinder.

* * *

><p>The screams filled the air at the New Kasmir Research Facility, then died out. Two agents wearing blue suits and blue gloves walked calmly out of the facility, one putting away a tiny cylindrical device. The other put a cryo-frozen vial of blood into a storage case.<p>

"We shall have this investigated immediately."

"The incompetent Commander shall be reported at once."

"Although there is no evidence, I suspect familiar hands at work here."

"The clean computer workings indicate a professional."

"The silent entry suggests a possibility: Subject 0173."

"Our agents on Persephone may know more."

"Let us return there then."


	8. Chapter 8

River sat in the pilot's chair of Serenity, checking courses for their next trip. She looked up at the dusk sky of Persephone, and licked her lips at the thought of dinner coming soon. At the navigator's terminal a few feet away, Jamison had snuck his arm out of his sling and begun working through some data he had recovered off of the ruined Cortex panel.

"Ghuh-Ghuh would be angry if he saw that."

Jamie looked over, seeing that River hadn't looked away from the navigation screen.

"Am I getting that much easier to read?"

"Your rate of typing had increased 1.7 times. Not hard to guess."

"Heh. Just don't snitch on me, huh?"

"He won't learn it from me." she murmured, then finished laying in courses; she could pick one as a primary, if the Captain would ever make up his gorram mind.

Badger'd said that he'd wave them when he got the next job lined up for them; thought it might be a few weeks though. Mal hadn't said anything to the crew, but River knew him like a book, even when she wasn't hearing his thoughts. He was thinking about taking a little vacation; setting the boat down on a nice peaceful planet, and letting them spend some of their hard-earned coin. She heard _Meadow_ and _Harvest_ and even _Paquin_ floating around in the air; all in different directions. She sighed, tiring of the game, _I think you do this sometimes just to annoy me_, hearing a _grin_ in response, and got up to see what Jamie was doing.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, seeing him scanning rapidly through a series of files filled with notation and diagrams.

"Tryin' to figure out what the guai these devices are used for. I'm real hesitant to just take 'em out of the bags until I know."

"I agree. Mustn't let the pets out to play until they're housebroken."

"From the way the others talked, they said you were hard to figure out when you got metaphorical. That sounded perfectly logical to me."

"It comes and goes. Back then, I _was_ confusing; I could hear everyone's thoughts, and couldn't separate them from my own. The metaphors would flow from mixed together sequences in my brain."

"Ah. Must have been frustrating."

"You have no idea."

"You wanna take a look through these? Your eye might catch something I'm missing. I've got a few of them; this one seems to be a compact navigational computer, about 20 times smaller than the one in Serenity. This one is a sensor grid; could probably boost our sensors by a factor of 5. A couple things in here have circuitry that's just bewildering to me though."

"Have you considered a Faraday cage? We could establish one in the cargo bay."

"Huh, didn't even think of it, despite the fancy little bags we made. Definitely something we can try. Think Jayne'll be up for a little construction work?"

"It does not hurt to ask. Especially if he might get a new toy out of it." she grinned.

"Ha! I'll see what materials we'd need." he opened up a cortex shop of an electronics supplier, and began calculating square footage.

"I will go ask Captain Tightpants for some money."

"Okay, I've heard that one bounce around 3 or 4 times. What the ta ma de does that mean?"

River giggled, starting the story of Mal's duel. The story was interrupted by a 'Wave gong. Jamie looked at the sender, saw that it was Badger. He hit the accept button.

"Hey Badger."

"'Allo there Jamie, L'il Bit; Mal about? Got some of the information about the job sooner than expected."

"We'll go grab him." Jamie put the 'Wave on hold; turning to River, he asked "Did Badger look nervous to you just now?"

"No more than usual. I can't get a sense of him here, too much static from the other minds. What do you think?"

"Well, I can't read minds, but I can sure as hell read faces. Badger looked downright terrified there, though he thought he covered it. Run and get Mal, I think we may need to be goin' on a rescue mission."

* * *

><p>"Badger. Didn't 'spect to be hearin' from you so soon."<p>

"Some info came in a bit sooner than expected, Mal. When can ya come down to look it over?"

Mal glanced at River; _Is it my imagination, or is he pronouncing too well?_

_I notice it now too._

"How does an hour work for you?"

"Works just fine, boyo. See ya then."

The 'Wave clicked off; the three looked at each other with senses of uneasiness. "So. Trap?"

"Trap."

"River, go get loaded up and tell Jayne as well. Let Simon know we might have casualties. Tell Zoe to get ready to hold the fort; we need Wash up here now, and have Inara stand by in the port shuttle in case we need a quick pickup."

River nodded once, then took off down the hall, shouting to the others. Kaylee looked up from the galley where she'd been cooking, somewhat startled. "Cap'n, what's going on?"

"L'il Kaylee, go down and get us ready to take off. Try to put dinner on hold if you can."

The two Hands stepped forward from the wall of Badger's office where they had stood, out of sight of the 'Wave console. "As soon as Captain Reynolds arrives, you will be rewarded."

"Wit' what, 'xactly? 30 coin, a traitor's reward?" _Likely my own death._

"Just make sure to do exactly as we say, and you will live to face tomorrow."

River, Mal, and Jayne had just reached Badger's hideout, and immediately were on guard; the normal roughnecked hooligans that guarded the outside of his sanctum were nowhere in sight.

"Mal, what's going on?" whispered his earwig communicator.

"Badger's goons are missing." he whispered back. The three were back in the black suits they had procured for the New Kasmir job; they were suited quite well for dark-of-night raids.

River suddenly stiffened; now that she was close enough, the static didn't block them anymore. "Two by two, hands of blue..." she whispered, clearly shaken. She put her hand to her chrome-plated automatic, taking comfort in its well-worn grip.

"We try to go in silently; I'll be backup with the shotty here. You two, try to take them by surprise. Knives, if you can."

"I wouldn't suggest that, Mal. I tried going toe to toe with them a month ago, and they dislocated my shoulder for my troubles." whispered the earwig.

"Suggestions?"

"Shoot to kill. Anyone pressuring Badger means bad news."

"Right then. I know how to do that." he whispered. The others nodded, pulling their weapons of choice.

"River, go around the other way; I'll try to draw them from my side. Jayne, you're overwatch; if something goes wrong, try to take them out and get back to Serenity."

Mal Reynolds walked in, no shotgun evident. "Evening, Badger. Why the late meeting?"

"Good afternoon, Captain Reynolds. We were hoping to speak with you." the Blue Hands stepped forward, hands empty for the moment.

"That's a terrible shame. I've no intention of speaking ta you." with a single swift pull, he drew his trusty revolver and fired once, twice, three times at the right-hand Hand. All three chest shots would have killed instantly, yet the Huen Dahn stayed standing.

"I do not believe this conversation will be productive." one Hand pulled out his device. At that moment, his head blew, torn apart by a hollowpoint 9mm shell.

The other Hand reached for his device, panic becoming evident in his eyes, when a monstrous roar deafened Mal's right ear, as Jayne finished the job with the shotgun.

Mal jumped forward, grabbing Badger and pulling him with them. The little man seemed stunned at the sudden action; then, regaining his faculties, fought Mal for a moment. "Hold on, gorramit. I need to grab me effects."

He reached into a floor safe and withdrew a bag of platinum. "Wouldn't want to leave this fer th' scavengers, now would I?" He then set fire to his file cabinet, and grabbing a small travel case, joined the others. Running swiftly now, the three and Badger ran back towards the docks where Serenity sat awaiting takeoff.

Requesting standard permission, Serenity got airborne and quickly broke atmo, Wash's steady hands on the yoke.

* * *

><p>Badger sat at the table with the others, between Inara and Wash, stuffing himself on Kaylee's cooking. "That right there is marvelous, l'il miss." Turning to the others, he doffed his bowler. "And ta for the rescue, lads and ladies. Right neat work."<p>

Inara inched her chair slightly closer to Jamie, her nose slightly scrunched. Jamie grinned, eating with one hand as Simon watched his patient like a hawk.

"S' no problem, Badger. Couldn't let our favorite crime boss get killed, now could we?"

"'ey now, I prefer to be called a legitimate businessman." he grinned cheekily.

Zoe spoke up, saying "Well, we've got your room all set up for you, next to the shower and everything."

Badger seemed to miss the insinuation, but Jamie saw the others try their damnedest not to laugh.

"Where are you thinkin' on getting off, Badger?" Mal asked, glowering at the glance Badger had just given River.

"'ve got a little hole all set up on Kerry, if'n I was out that way."

"I was thinkin' on a nice vacation out on Meadow; seems to me Kerry is right near there." Kaylee's eyes lit up at that.

"That it is, boyo. Would appreciate it if'n ya could drop me off."

"Sounds fair. Well, with dinner about done, I'm afraid we don't offer much in the way of entertainment. Free to use the Cortex or the 'Wave on the bridge as long as somebody's there, otherwise I'd appreciate it if ya stayed in the passenger areas."

"And why's that, Mal? Got things ya don't want me findin?" he winked.

"Just the usual passenger rules."

"Fair 'nough. Anybody care for a game o'cards then?" To Mal's surprise, Jayne and Simon seemed willing. The three retired to the lounge, pulling out the Tall card deck.

* * *

><p>Jamie and Inara retired to the passenger bunks, tired from the day's stress and worry. He collapsed on the bed, not even thinking about taking off his clothes or the slippers he wore about on board Serenity, but soon enough that problem was taken care of for him. Soon she slipped under the covers with him, cozy and warm, and they fell asleep, dreaming of the fields and woods of Meadow.<p>

Mal and River were cozied up too, both zonked out on the couch in the common area, River practically laying across his lap. Badger walked by on the way to his own bunk later that night, and smirked at the sight of the two warriors, sprawled out across a couch and snoring. "True love, 'at is." he murmured, then went off to his sleep.

* * *

><p>Badger was awakened early that morning by cries and moans, at first sitting up wildly, reaching for his gun; after a few moments, he realized the source of the sounds, and laughed despite himself. He quickly showered and dressed, and got to the galley as quick as humanly possible, closing the galley door behind him, to find the rest of the crew of Serenity already awake and sitting in the galley, trying to keep their minds off the sound.<p>

Mal looked up from his morning coffee, "Morning Badger. Our breakfast cook for the morning is currently indisposed, so there's coffee in the dispenser while we wait for him to be done with her." Mal's face had more than a bit of a glower on it, and Badger guessed he wasn't particularly happy about that particular union just yet.

"Coffee sounds just right, Mally. Does this happen every morning on this gorram loveboat ye've got 'ere?"

"No, sometimes it happens at night too." River snarked, her own eyes bleary; her neck was cricked badly from falling asleep on the couch.

"I swear, Kaylee, we're gonna be soundproofing th' hell out of their bunk soon as we get ta Meadow."

Kaylee giggled, nodding. "Sounds about right. We can do some overhaul work on Serenity while we're at it; if the payoff from our last job was good enough. Daddy'd be happy for the work."

Badger laughed. "Ye could buy a whole ship wi' tha payoff from th' last job."

Badger sat down, and Mal turned to him, face now serious. "Which leads me to a question, Badger. How did you get yourself mixed up in this?"

"Th' huen dahns came by 'bout 2 hours before you showed up yesterday. All I 'eard before they got there were me boyos screamin' awful-like, then these Ung Jeong Jia Ching Jien Soh walked in all casual-like, started askin' questions about the cargo ye pulled in fer me a few days ago. It felt like they wasn't really worried 'bout the cargo, and got around to th' point; they was lookin' fer me boy Jamie and somebody they referred to 'tween themselves as Subject 0173." River broke out violently shuddering at that mention, and Mal put his arm around her, pulling her tightly to his side. She relaxed slightly in his grip.

"Mei yong ma duh tse gu yong." he snarled, as River rocked slightly, whispering "Wuo shang mei er, mei sheen, byen shi to!" He pulled her tighter, whispering into her hair "Don't worry bao bei; we ain't lettin' them have you ever."

* * *

><p>Badger looked on sympathetically; clearly the Hands had been after this slip of a girl. He remembered the warrants out for her and the one called Simon on the Cortex, then they had vanished after that Ta ma de hun dan wi' th' sword had come callin', looking fer information on Serenity. Killed most of his best boyos, too. Badger'd barely got away that day, using his bolt hole behind his desk. Didn't hold any malice against Mal for the trouble though, after seeing the Miranda Broadwave and hearing some of the true story.<p>

"Kaylee, can you take her down to yer bunk fer a while, settle her down?"

"Sure thing, Cap'n." Kaylee wrapped her arm around River and walked her to her bunk, whispering to her as they went.

Mal did something that Badger didn't expect; he put his head in his hands, and seemed close to weeping. He finally looked up at Badger after getting control of himself. "Thought we were past that." he murmured, clearly unsettled by this turn of events.

"I'm sorry, Mal. Didn' mean to worry th' poor girl."

"Ya couldn'a known. Gorramit! When we get to Kerry, you better find yourself a hole and pull it in after ya, Badger. Can't guarantee they won't be followin' us there, and torturin' our next course out of ya."

"I've already got a place prepared, Mal. Don't ya worry on me none."


	9. Chapter 9

Mal stalked down to the passenger dorms after the noise quietened down; he needed to talk to Jamie _now._

He knocked once on the door and slid it open, and immediately turned around in the doorway, blushing.

"Jamie? Needin' ta talk to ya. Get dressed and meet me on the bridge."

The tangle of limbs and sheets untangled themselves as Jamie detached himself from Inara, kissing her cheek once as she slept peacefully. He pulled on some clothes and followed Mal up to the bridge.

* * *

><p>Mal closed the door and locked it behind Jamie as he came in and sat at the Navigator's station. Wash had taken off soon as Mal stalked onto the bridge, looking pissy.<p>

"Jamie, we got some talkin to do."

"I'd imagine we do, Cap'n. This's about Badger, yea?"

"It sure as hell is, and it's how you seem to know a whole hell of a lot more than you ought."

Jamie nodded, seeming to come to some sort of decision.

"Alright. Now remember, everything I told you when I first came on board was the truth. What I'm going to tell you now fits into the holes I left.

"I did join the Marshals at 18, with a degree in Computer Science. Got pushed up into the Cortex Investigative Division right away, spent 5 years doing that. A lot of the knowledge we've been using came from the fact that we shared a bullpen with the Narc and Covert Ops Investigation guys; a lot of shop talk has come in handy.

"The year you picked up Simon and River Tam and led us on a wild goose chase, I was promoted to the rank of Operative."

Mal snarled, nearly slamming Jamie up against the bulkhead before remembering his shoulder and settled for punching him across the face once. The skinnier man took the punch better than he had any right to do so, waiting for Mal to settle down.

"I oughta put you out the airlock right now!"

"Settle down, Cap'n. I was the first one assigned to the case of Simon and River Tam. You may or may not recognize it, but we weren't able to come close until the other Operative got into the playing field. By the time he'd done that, I had developed a sense of respect for you and your crew, and I was guessing that the warrants out for Simon and River weren't quite on the level.

"With the other Operative on the move, I was sidelined. Parliament didn't quite trust me anymore. The Miranda Broadwave (of which I didn't know about until it went out), weakened their trust in me further, at the same time as it weakened my faith in them. All Operatives had their security clearance revoked for a while, as they sorted the pieces out.

"Out of curiousity, do you know anything about Shepherd Book's past?"

"No. He made it a point to be cryptic every chance he got." Mal muttered, cooling down now.

"Although I don't know for certain, based on the ID he used to get medical treatment on the Magellan, I'd say he was probably an Operative too. Long time ago."

"Yea, that was the theory I had."

"Well, after Miranda, the rest of my story from before pretty much jibes. I raised hell and got shunted out to the ass end of the 'Verse. I really did nearly kill the Operative, but let him have a chance to explain it."

"Ya coulda, and it might have improved this conversation."

"Doubt that would happen, Cap'n. 'Sides, I think he was changed in his own way as well. Said he had important work to do, redemption to seek, as he left."

"How much does Badger know about you?"

"Just that I've helped him out a few times already; tightened up his Cortex security, that sorta thing. I haven't told another soul in the 'Verse this story but you."

"Likely you'd better tell it to 'Nara, too. She deserves to know. I won't spread it around to the others though. River was right; you've changed, even since you came on board."

"I'll tell her right away."


	10. Chapter 10

Jamie headed down towards the passenger bunks, not at all excited to see Inara right now. He peeked his head into his room, saw that she was just getting dressed. She turned and saw him, and her eyes lit up. He entered the room and locked the door behind him.

"Mm, getting ideas already? I'm a bit hungry to be doing that, but..." she murmured as she approached him.

He took one of her arms and held her out away from him for a moment, long enough for her to stop moving and give him a curious look. _Why is he holding back?_

"Inara, there's something I have to tell you, and you're probably not going to like me much when I do."

"Jamie, what's wrong?"

He told her. He told her the unvarnished truth, the spaces inbetween his first story and the real one. Her face changed several times; incredulous at first, she became stonefaced as he finished.

They stood for a moment in time, then, quicker than a flash, she slapped him, and walked out.

_Guess I deserved that._ He sat heavily on the bed, wondering if this was going to change anything.

* * *

><p>Zoe heard the bunk hatch open, and Inara climbed down the ladder. She was stonefaced for a moment, then fell beside Zoe and began sobbing.<p>

The older woman rubbed her back gently, waiting for Inara to get a bit of control, then started.

* * *

><p>Mal had buttonholed her just after Jamie had left down to the passenger bunks, and gotten the others cleared out of the galley with work so they wouldn't interrupt.<p>

* * *

><p>"Inara, I know you're upset, honey...but look at his story again. Don't let our hatred of the Operative tarnish what you saw as a good man.<p>

"Jamie's already bled for us, and a little bird told me that he got all of our outstanding warrants deleted from the Marshal's database. Serenity's in the black, and we're not broke.

"Not much's really changed in his story, just the names. He was protecting us even then; I'm not the most charitable person in the 'Verse, and even I can see that. He knew Simon and River's warrants were phony, or at the very least overblown. You really do care for him, if this bothers you that much.

"Bao Bei, he obviously wants something real with you if he was willing to give up that secret; it probably would have gotten him thrown out the airlock before anyway."

Inara looked up, newfound respect in her eyes. "You think so?"

"I surely do."

"You missed a calling as a Counselor."

"Nah, I'm usually more comfortable putting bullets into people than getting feelings out of them."

"I'm still angry with him."

"I'd be angry too. Doesn't mean you have to love him any less."

Inara's eyes brightened up at that. "Am I really that obvious?"

"You really are."

* * *

><p>Jamie was making his way slowly towards the galley when Inara came out, an angry look on her face. She grabbed him tightly by the arm and dragged him to the shuttle that had once been hers. Sealing the door behind him, she whirled on him. He expected to see wrath on her face, but only saw a smile.<p>

She hugged him tightly, and he grunted in pain as she pressed on his still-sore shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry bao bei. I'm just a fool."

"'Nara, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to keep that a secret, it just..."

She pulled him down so they were both kneeling. "Honey, let me talk.

"I think I love you. It surely isn't just physical, or I wouldn't have been so angry you lied. I understand why you did, and I'm still a bit angry with you...but do you think I'll be angry for long?"

His eyes held a strange mixture of confusion and delight. "You...love me?"

"Of course I do, Ai ren. Now, I want you to swear to me; no more secrets, no more lies. Only truth with me. Dohn ma?"

"Dang ran, bao bei. Everything I am. Nothing I'm not. Starting now. I love you too."

"Are you going to tell the crew?"

"I hadn't wanted to. Might be for the best if I did though."

"I think it will."

* * *

><p>Dinner that night had been excellent, and with little to do on the ship, the crew and Badger had played shoes, played music, and generally just relaxed all day. It was the first time in at least a few weeks the crew had time for play, and they enjoyed it.<p>

As dinner was being cleared, Jamison stood up. "Everyone, real quick before we all go off to do whatever we're going to do...after some talking today, I've decided to tell the whole truth about who I am. I think it's for the best."

He told them. He wasn't focusing on the story anymore, but on their faces; he saw much more of a mix of emotions. Mal and Zoe were stonefaced as usual, but it was tinged with a touch of acceptance. Inara sat patiently for him to finish, her emotions all wrung out earlier in the day. Badger had an odd look on his face; maybe confusion, but also a bit of glee? Kaylee was horrified, but later as the implications became clear, she smiled. River and Simon were studies in nonchalance, but he could see their exceptionally intelligent brains working through what he was telling them, and soon they were nodding. Wash easily found acceptance; Jamie had the feeling this wasn't the first time a secret like this had been told.

Jayne was the strange outlier. Angry at first, he began nodding, and when the story was done, stood up and clapped Jamie on his (good) shoulder. "Hell, ain't the first time we've had odd folk on the boat, is it? Can't be throwin' stones m'self," and headed off to his bunk.


	11. Chapter 11

The two days remaining to Kerry were quiet; Jamie couldn't tell if the others were intentionally avoiding him, or simply having reasons to be elsewhere when he was around. Only Inara was by him, comforting him at night and keeping him company during the day. Even the daytime bridge watches, when he would sit and tell jokes with Wash, were uncharacteristically silent.

Badger patted him on the shoulder as he left for his hiding place on Kerry, saying goodbye to the ship and her crew with a wave and a doff of his hat; Serenity was airborne a few minutes later and in the Black once again.

* * *

><p>Jamie was looking at the technical plans on a monitor at the navigation station once again, when he heard a distinctive beeping sound on the copilot console. "Gorramit, that's a radar lock!"<p>

Wash looked up from the nav screen he'd been studying, "Shuh ma?"

Jamie fell into the copilot's seat and checked the display; sure enough, X-band targeting radar had locked up on Serenity from a fuzzy source aft, in their wake. Jamie activated the powerful jamming system he'd installed on Serenity in preparation for the New Kasmir job, and was rewarded with the sound of the lock breaking.

"Somebody's got a bone to pick with us. If they get too close, they'll be able to establish lockup anyways and blow us out of the sky. Wash, see if you can find something we can use for cover out here."

Wash responded immediately, checking the Nav systems. "All we've got is the Dylan asteroid cluster, maybe 5 minutes out on full burn." He picked up the mike, saying "Cap'n, we need you up here now." At about the same moment, Wash and Jamie, along with most of the rest of Serenity's crew, heard a crash in the galley, and Mal appeared at the bridge a few moments later, River propped up on his arm. She was muttering and rambling wildly, and Jamie thought he heard "they come out of the black, they come when you call".

"Gorramit, what the ta ma de is goin' on?"

"We've picked up a trailer. Tried to get missile lock, but the jammers are keeping 'em at bay. Won't work for long. We're 5 minutes from the Dylan asteroid cluster at full burn; might be able to beat them." Wash replied breathlessly.

"We won't. Howard class corvette, only 2 minds aboard. Two by Two, Hands of Blue..." River mumbled, trying to regain control.

"Go to full burn now, get us to those asteroids. If we need the cover, I'd like it to be there."

Serenity firewalled, and burst forward on a blast of plasma. Behind them, the shadowy ship that had taken up a trailing position burst forth on a plume of energy as well, spooling up to catch them.

"Jamie, what tricks you got up your sleeve?"

"Kaylee and I put together some chaff and flare pods on the engine section; should keep most of the missiles off us. Other than that, not a damned thing we can do about it. No weapons aboard."

"Kaylee, get us ready for a Crazy Ivan." Wash blurted into the com system. Kaylee's voice came back fuzzily over the speakers. "On it!"

The beeping sound started again; apparently the ship had closed enough to burn through their jammer. A chittering sound soon accompanied. "Go se! Missile launch!" Jamie whispered, and stabbed his finger towards a newly installed button.

A spread of metallic chaff and powerful flares ejected just above Serenity's topside engine cluster; a few seconds later, with Serenity some miles ahead of it, the missiles ran in and exploded.

Wash didn't bother with fancy aerobatics now; the best course that would get them to the asteroids would be a straight one. Less than 2 minutes to go, as the clock hands seemed to creep to a stop on board Serenity.

Jayne and Zoe were loaded up in the cargo bay already, armed with longarms and submachine guns. If the Hands got latched onto Serenity, they'd find a fight waiting for them.

Less than 30 seconds from the asteroids, the missiles fired again, catching a second salvo of chaff and flares. Wash maneuvered deftly between two converging asteroids, coming out the other side just as they crashed together. The small corvette nimbly curved over the asteroids, dodging the rubble. They struggled to maintain missile lock, but Wash was able to curve in and around several of the larger chunks of metallic rock, confusing the missiles. Jamie was racking his brains coming up with a plan; suddenly, something hit him. "Wash, the heat pulse from a full burn is pretty hot, isn't it?"

"Pretty darn. I-of course!"

Mal looked between the two as Wash dodged between another set of asteroids, but the corvette gamely stuck on behind them. "Well?" he groused.

"We open a channel to the ship. Inform them that we're stopping, that we'll hand over what they want."

"Are you out of your _gorram_ mind?"

River suddenly snapped out of her concentration and looked up at Mal, her eyes shining brightly now. "I see his plan. I predict a 93.458% chance of success."

_Well, gorramit. They'd got River in on it now._

* * *

><p>"Unidentified ship, this is Firefly Auburne, Captain Ivan speaking. Please cease firing and we will dock!"<p>

"Firefly Auburne, please report vessel registration." a cold voice came over the speakers.

"Vessel registration 19358-C129, Firefly Auburne, light transport."

"Very well, come about for docking."

Serenity came about, nose facing towards a large asteroid, her tail towards the open Black. The much smaller patrol ship had maneuvered to dock with the cargo bay doors, when the larger Firefly had turned on her axis abruptly and the rear engine section glowed brightly. The two agents on the bridge of the Corvette suddenly realized that the ship's controls wouldn't respond; they watched numbly as the plasma stream from the Firefly's main reactor crashed into the bows of their ship.

The plume of golden light was about the prettiest thing he'd ever seen, Mal decided, watching the rear-ward facing camera. It hit the small corvette like a physical force, heating the hull and forward-looking windows to white hot. The small ship suddenly turned about, and lit off her own full burn, right into the heart of the asteroid cluster.

From a few thousand miles away, they watched as bright lights flared in the heart of the metallic chunks.

Mal patted Jamie and Wash on the shoulders, muttering something about telling a Monty about this wreck, then put an arm around River's shoulders and walked back towards their bunk.

Jamie felt at that moment that the spell was broken; he didn't think he'd have trust issues with the crew ever again.

Wash congratulated him on using the comm wave between the ships to take over the smaller ship's autopilot, and Jamie complimented Wash's beautiful flying to get them out of there. Something troubled Jamie in the back of his head though; this was the third pair of agents they'd needed to dispose of. They were after them with a powerful will now; where could Serenity hope to hide if they couldn't even hide in the Black?


	12. Chapter 12

Serenity landed behind a large shop and house on the green fields of Meadow, near the port town of Kowlonshi. A rusting and battered sign on the shop read "Frye Repairs".

Three people waited impatiently for the Firefly to set down, rushing forward as soon as the main cargo doors began to lower. They were met at the bottom by the crew of Serenity, and joyful hugging and manly back-pounding followed.

"Tom, it's good to see you again. Serenity's been needing some repairs, more so than we can do in the Black, and there ain't but one person in the 'Verse I'd trust to fix her other than Kaylee."

"Malcolm, my boy." the former browncoat laughed. "Pleasure before business. We'll have plenty of time to work. Get yer crew out here afore I make ya!"

Inara pulled Jamie down the ramp, and greeted Tom and Beth Frye warmly. "This is our newest crew member, Jamie Monroe." He shook hands firmly with Tom, and was about to shake Beth's hand when she pulled him into a hug.

"Jamie, nice to meetcha, son."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir, ma'am."

"Can the sirrin'. Name's Tom."

"And my name is Beth."

He smiled, "Okay, Tom and Beth."

"Ya can meet the others later, they'll be about soon. We're fixin' to have a shindig tonight to welcome ya." Ahead, Jamie could see that Kaylee had already been ambushed by a slightly younger version of herself, evidently her sister Jenny. The two were chattering excitedly; it wasn't often that Kaylee could come home for any length of time.

Tom walked alongside Mal and River, chatting with them as they walked towards the house, while Beth distracted Inara and Jamie.

"So, what can ya tell me 'bout this new crew member of yers? Seems a bit like Simon did, afore he and Kaylee were married and he had a stick up his Pi Gu."

"He's a computer whiz, got all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. Competent as hell though; pretty tough too, took a shot through the shoulder not long back."

"Ain't what I'm askin."

"I know Tom. Let's just say, he's trustworthy. If he's willin' to tell you his story, might be that you'll hear the whole thing afore we leave. Took us 'bout a month to hear some of it."

"So what is it about this job you did recently? Kaylee mentioned it, but didn't get to sparin' any details, 'Wave security being what it is."

"We broke into a secure Alliance technical research facility and stole a number of items of unusual technical artifice." River said brightly.

"In English?"

"Busted down the doors, got some nifty stuff. Got paid too."

"Now if only we could figure out what the guai some of this stuff does." Mal groused; they still hadn't been able to do anything with the things they'd stolen, apart from the money from Badger's job.

"Maybe I can help out with that. Decent chance to get to know the kid too."

"We'd appreciate the help, Tom."

* * *

><p>Most of the Frye clan showed up that night for the shindig; a bright bonfire had been lit and a simple, but tasty spread had been laid out. Long rough-hewn benches were set out around the fire, and an area had been cleared for dancing; family members had brought their instruments and were tuning up. They'd had enough work for a few weeks. It was time to play.<p>

The band played inexpert but heartfelt music, mostly old country/western tunes from Earth-that-was but also more modern spacer songs in honor of their guests. The party was lively, with plenty of drink, barbecued meat, and all manner of side dishes. It was a bit of a potluck affair, a patchwork of dishes and people, but that's the way the crew of Serenity liked it.

Jamie, Tom, Kaylee, and a few of the other technically-inclined members of the Frye clan talked shop around one of the rough outdoor tables that had been dragged over near the fire, but after a while, and more than a few eyerolls, Inara came over from where she'd been plotting with River and dragged Jamie out onto the dance floor, with Tom and the other Frye men erupting into laughter.

* * *

><p>Jayne was sitting with Zoe and Wash, trying his damnedest not to get barbecue sauce all over his nicest shirt, when Jenny Frye walked up; Jayne took a moment to see her, then sat slackjawed for a second.<p>

Jenny's hair was put up into a fancy 'do, from her usual tied-back pony tail. She wore what was probably her nicest dress, and a nice dress it was too. When they'd met them on the ship's ramp before, she had looked like a slightly younger version of Kaylee; now she looked a lady of her own rights. _This is one right pretty lady,_ Jayne thought.

"Mr. Cobb, ya care ta dance?"

"Hell, Mr. Cobb was my Da, and he's gone now. Call me Jayne." he muttered, standing up and taking her hand as she dragged him onto the dance floor. Zoe and Wash shared a glance, then River caught Zoe's eye, and giggled as she danced with Mal. Zoe and Wash just laughed at that.

"Tross?" Mal whispered, catching the giggle.

"Nothing, Mal." she laughed. _You'll find out soon._

* * *

><p>The party slowed down as the night wore on, with people drifting off to wherever they were sleeping for the night. Soon, it was only a handful of the Frye family remaining, and the crew of Serenity, sans Jamie and Inara. Zoe and Wash were sitting comfortably by the fire, with Mal and River closeby, chatting quietly. Simon and Kaylee were chatting with Tom and Beth. The band had long packed up, so they were surprised when they heard a guitar begin playing. They looked, and saw Jayne sitting with his guitar, and Jenny sitting so close she was practically glued to him.<p>

"'Tross, are my eyes deceiving me, or is Jayne got somethin' goin on with Jenny?"

"Hell, Cap'n, they danced all night. You weren't payin' attention?" Zoe put in.

"Nope, somebody was distracting me." he glowered, with his _I'm not really angry_ look on.

River just giggled; she'd had a few ciders tonight and was feeling puckish. Her face sobered quickly though. "Mal, I've been gleaning thoughts over the past few weeks that he was feeling like he was missing something. He's usually easy to read, but he seemed a mite confused, starting about 2 weeks ago, right after Inara and Jamie took up together."

Mal just muttered, "Gorram loveboat."

"Mal, I'm serious. I think Jayne is looking for something other than just sex."

"She's right, sir. Haven't seen him goin' to a whorehouse for almost a year."

"I've seen him about with ladies a few times though..." Mal said grumpily.

"Those as he's been able to charm. Even you can't deny he knows how to win over ladies. Problem is, our lifestyle is too transitory for him to meet any woman properly."

"And you thought you'd do some matchmaking?"

"Please, all I had to do was help Jenny bait the trap. Soon as I saw how she looked at Jayne, it was obvious. You didn't hear what he was thinking when he looked up, neither."

"I s'pose not. Just...not sure how Tom'll take it."

Almost as if Tom was a reader himself, he looked up from the conversation he was having with Simon, Kaylee, and Beth, and saw Jayne and Jenny. His face hardened for a moment, then softened. A slight smile spread over his face. Beth saw the change in her husband's demeanor, and peeked over her shoulder, giggling when she saw them.

* * *

><p>Mal woke early the next morning, River curled up peacefully in his arms. He smiled gently, not wanting to wake her up. He slowly disentangled himself from her grasp, and pulled the covers back up over her so she wouldn't get cold. He dressed casually, in plain pants and a t-shirt, and kissed River's forehead gently, feeling the tiny round scar just below her hairline.<p>

He left the bunk before the surge of anger that feature generated could disturb her, and headed up for the bridge. Everyone on the boat seemed to be sleeping, and he stopped to make some coffee before heading to the bridge.

"Cap'n." Jamie greeted quietly, sitting at the navigator's chair and reading Cortex screens too fast for Mal to follow.

"Jamie. Inara kick you out?"

He smiled, saying "Nah. Just couldn't sleep, didn't want to wake her up. Decided to come up and see if anything came up from that ship we wrecked on our way here. River seemed certain they were Blue Hands, so I figured there'd be at least some response on the military feeds. Nothing on the news feeds, nothing on the civilian authorities, nothing on military."

"You try Blue Sun's channel?"

"Too much work for now. I don't have access to enough satellites to bounce it. Maybe when we're in the Black again."

Mal nodded, most of what Jamie had said still Greek to him. "Jamie, I wanted to thank you for everything you've done so far. I haven't been real fair to you, and...I'm sorry."

"Really, it's no prob, Cap'n. I wasn't expecting a rosy reunion when I first woke up and recognized who you are. Not getting airlocked is good enough for me." he grinned.

"Well, you've definitely earned your keep around here. To give you a bit of perspective, the take on Badger's last job alone is more than we made last year. It's enough to get Serenity overhauled, and cover the crew's split."

"Well, then. I guess I'll accept the gratitude."

"So, how does all this work, anyways? I had to learn enough computers to do navigation and control the ship, then it all goes over my head."

"I could probably give you the 101 course on it, just enough to get by. We've got the time while we're dirtside, might as well."

* * *

><p>Everyone headed out to the farmhouse for breakfast; Inara thought Mal looked a bit dazed, or maybe just lost in thought. <em>Wonder what they were doing up in the bridge before we all woke up.<em>

Beth and Jenny had breakfast almost ready, and the crew all sat around the big wooden table in the kitchen. Tom came in from the shop and washed up, and they began to eat.

Jenny had put Jayne's plate in front of him, and River smirked as she saw the more-than-normal care that had been taken on it. By some prearranged signal, a seat next to Jayne was empty, and Jenny sat down in it, a little closer to him than Beth.

"So, folks. What's the plan while you're dirtside?" Tom led off with, eyeing his daughter, while Jayne studiously tried not to look too hard at Jenny.

"Well, that's depending on how long you're willing to put up with us." Mal grinned, knowing that Tom relished the chance to see his daughter.

"Hell, I'd let ya park yer boat here all year."

"Well, we can't quite take a year off. We are in a good way right now though, and we have the leeway to pick our next few jobs pretty carefully. Everyone's free to take a few days and just decompress, don't worry 'bout chores or nothin'." Everyone looked excited at that prospect, both the vacation and the promise of purpose; while they'd be down on the planet for a month, they'd all be going land-crazy if they weren't doing something.

"So what are you wanting to do with Serenity, Mal?"

"I'm thinking this is a good time to take care of pretty much any of the outstanding repairs we've been meaning to do lately. Might also be a good chance to do some soundproofing on the bunks," a few faces blushed at that mention. "I'd like to keep Serenity ready to take off on a few hours' notice though, so no jobs that will take all day to put back together."

"You thinking on having some company?"

"Let's just say that we've had too many close calls lately for comfort."

"Alliance?"

"No, surprisingly. By some strange coincidence, any and all outstanding warrants ever issued for anybody on board the ship, or for the ship itself, have completely vanished from the Marshal warrant database. Although we need to stay away from some particular Alliance officers, I'm not worried on them right now."

"Then..."

"Hands of Blue. They come out of the Black, they come when you call." River shook her head, as if trying to regain her balance. Mal gently rubbed her back until the shadow on her face passed.

"Ah. Sorry, little one. Didn't mean to bring up something hard."

"It's alright, Tom. Only by repeated exposure can my fight or flight response be altered."

"I've got to say, you're getting much better about it, mei mei. We used to have to sedate her when they were merely mentioned." Simon mentioned.

"Killed too many of them to be that frightened anymore." River's face looked almost fierce. "Jamie and Jayne helped with that though. Wash too."

"Shuh ma?" Tom asked, a bit confused.

"The day we met Jamie-well, picked him up bleeding off the docks of Persephone-River cold-cocked 2 of them. Then, after Jamie got shot on New Kasmir, 2 Hands tried to use Badger to lure us in. Must have been figuring on us bein' a mite stupider." Mal said.

Inara piped in, "Then Wash and Jamie took out two of the huen dahns when they tried to dock with us in the Dylan asteroid cluster. Gave 'em a faceful of Firefly tail."

"Zhe zhen shi ge kuai le de jing zhang."

"That it is. They're only the shi yan, though. Surely they've got more to send after us."


	13. Chapter 13

Three days into their vacation on Meadow, the crew was thoroughly land-crazy. They'd tramped all over Meadow, saw all the sights, went swimming at the swimming hole, hiked, and enjoyed themselves at the local bar. They'd even gone to a mall a few hundred miles away, and done some shopping. Each night they'd build a fire, dance, drink, talk, and generally enjoy the summer weather. Jenny had stuck close by Jayne each day, showing him the sights of Meadow.

Kaylee and Tom had seen plenty of Meadow already, and used the 3 days while the crew rested to get a head-start on repairs to Serenity.

On the fourth day, Jamie woke up early again. He was feeling antsy, and wanted something to do.

He ventured off-ship and found Tom up early in his shop, drinking the first cup of coffee of the day. Tom quickly stepped away from his work bench, closing a drawer.

"Mornin', Jamie. What has ya up this early on yer vacation?"

"Feelin' antsy. I'm thinking it's a good time to start working on the little bits of gadgetry we got stowed all through Serenity."

"Yea, Mal mentioned you'd done a hell of a heist. What sort of tech is it?"

"I think it's a lot of prototype or experimental stuff. I recognized one or two of the items; there was a pretty shiny looking navigational computer the size of a wristwatch, and some pretty heavy-duty long-range com systems. Some of the stuff just completely eludes me though. Could be I know what it is, just that the form factor isn't something I'm familiar with yet."

"That's possible. Ya got schematics?"

Jamie just held up a data spike; Tom took it and put it into his computer terminal near the inner door to the shop.

"I see what ya mean, lad. Some of this stuff is downright confusing. Might be we can figure them out faster if we're tryin' 'em out."

"I thought of that. I'm real hesitant to take 'em out of their bags until we're in a Faraday cage."

"Well, there ya go." Tom opened one end of the shop, exposing a coppery-sheened door. Pulling it open, Jamie saw a small table and some diagnostic tools.

"I take it this isn't the first time you've done this?"

"Well, some equipment can be real sensitive to 'Waves and signals. Much easier to work with in here."

"Let me go get the gear. I'll be 10 or so."

"Sure thing."

After Jamie left, Tom went over to the drawer he'd closed and pulled out the object he'd been working on. He put it into a safer, locked drawer along with the other materials he'd had out.

Kaylee came back with Jamie, arms full of wire-mesh plastic-coated bags.

"Jamie caught me just as I was coming out of the engine room. We gonna see what these pieces of shiny can do?"

"As near as we can tell, anyways."

* * *

><p>Mal came into the house, looking for his mechanic and his tech; Jamie was usually on the bridge by now. Beth greeted him as he came into the kitchen, handing him a cup of coffee. Jenny Frye was working on breakfast for when the rest of the crew woke up and stumbled in.<p>

"Mornin', Beth. Was expecting to see Kaylee and Tom workin' on Serenity when I came up. Whereabouts are they?"

"They're in his shop, fiddling with somesuch." For the wife of a mechanic, Beth Frye was technologically illiterate as could be.

"I'll go see what's holdin' 'em up." Mal winked.

Mal stepped into the shop, and saw Tom standing near one end of the shop, by an open door. "Hey Tom, where's my mechanic?"

A second Tom walked in the main shop doors.

"Shuh ma?"

A third walked out from the door Mal had just stepped out of. Mal looked around, confusedly.

"Pretty neat, huh cap'n?" Kaylee squealed as she bounded around the corner.

"I think it's another version of the hard-light projector Badger wanted to get his hands on. Could come in pretty handy for bushwhackin' folk, or drawin' fire."

"I'd say it would at that. Reckon we oughta keep that thing handy."

"Along with the Mark V Aerotech Crystal Processor Navigation Computer." Jamie said, holding an item the size of a wristwatch in his hand. "That job is having all sorts of wonderful side benefits. We'd be here years figuring them all out, but I think I've got a grasp on most of them. A few handy gadgets for Simon, some new toys for Kaylee, and a fancy high-end scope for Jayne to try out on Vera. Some of the extras to sell. We'll need to find a good fence. Maybe Badger can dig one up for us."

Tom stood by, nodding with a slight smile on his face.

The others were now in the kitchen, just sitting down to eat, as the three tech-heads and Mal came in out of the shop. By some coincidence, Jenny was sitting next to Jayne again, even closer than the first morning. The stragglers sat down and ate heartily of the good local farm food. Mal looked around at his crew, seeing them all content and happy, but with the first signs of boredom. Well, that was easily solved.

"I see y'all are starting to get a bit land-crazy. I figure we can make this a working vacation. While Tom and Kaylee are workin' on the repairs, we can all make ourselves busy enough just by cleanin and organizin the ship. Not much chance of doin' it while we're in the Black. We can install some of the new gadgets Tom, Jamie and Kaylee've been sussing out for us.

"It's also a good chance for everyone to take up some gun practice. We've got the coin and the suppliers nearby to get the ammo; we should work on making sure we're all proficient with all the guns on the boat.

"Tom, Beth, Jenny, that goes for you too. We've got some bad guys behind us, but too near for real comfort; I'd feel a mite safer if y'all were armed and ready to take care of 'em if they come your way."

"I'm glad of your concern, Mal. My Beth and Jenny have already got some training with guns, mostly shotgun and pistol. After hearing about the near-misses Kaylee's had over the years, I wanted my ladies to be well-prepared if trouble comes callin'."

"Well, they didn't have Jayne teaching them. I believe Jayne could teach a blind man to shoot." Simon said.

Jayne grinned at the praise, and Mal didn't miss the look of admiration Jenny gave him. From the way the grin widened, Jayne didn't miss it either.

The next few weeks went much quicker. With work to do, Serenity's family didn't have to work so hard to fill up their time.

Mal and Jamie disappeared for a few hours each morning after breakfast; the only one to find out what they were doing was Inara (apart from River, who knew right away). She had finally gone searching for them one morning, and found them on the bridge, with Jamie teaching Mal some of the intricacies of his trade. She smiled slightly at seeing the confusion on Mal's face, but he seemed to be getting it quickly enough.

Serenity got cleaned out and repaired cleaner than when Mal had first set foot on her. All of the contraband they had hidden in the smuggler hideyholes was taken out and catalogued, then stored away again. Several spare parts that could come in handy were purchased and put into the empty smuggler holds; never know when you might need a new catalyzer again.

All of the bunks on the ship were soundproofed considerably; with practically everyone on board bunking together, they were able to get almost everyone moved into crew quarters; bigger bunks were installed.

A whole variety of repair jobs were completed, from the most prosaic to the most complicated. The jamming system that had been installed the previous month was replaced with a far more compact and covert one that had been procured from the Alliance facility. Simon's infirmary got several shiny new diagnostic tools from the stash of newtech, as well as a bone knitter and a more sophisticated extractor for bullet wounds. The infirmary was completely restocked, and a chiller unit was installed to hold extra blood for transfusions. The ship's armory, as well as all of the personal weapons on the boat, were given a thorough cleaning and maintenance job by Jayne.

Each day, Jayne would get most of the crew out for an hour or two, just getting them all comfortable using various types of guns. Jenny, of course, got a fair bit of attention, and some "help" holding the guns. Thankfully, to Mal's mind, Tom was nowhere to be found during these sessions.

Jayne and Jamie, along with River, worked together to teach the crew basic hand-to-hand self defense. One day, they all went to an excellent armorer in Kowlonshi and got fitted for high quality body armor; Mal had decided that being shot was tiring for all of them.

* * *

><p>On one fine clear day about 2 weeks after they arrived, everyone, crew and Frye family, packed up a picnic lunch and went out to a secluded place in the countryside. There they held a long-range rifle competition, 3 shots on each ranged target, with the wagers being favors, chores, coin, and whatever else anyone could afford to lose in good fun.<p>

Jayne scored a near-perfect score on all three range targets, and Inara acquitted herself well; she had a steady hand and nearly perfect vision.

Mal, Zoe and Tom did well on the short-range, but their groupings wavered on the medium and long range targets. For a relative newcomer to the sport, Jenny proved an excellent shot, beating Mal and Zoe, along with most of the crew.

River's shots were automatic and well-aligned, but tended to suffer from aimlessness; she tended to shoot much better when there were minds to target. Kaylee and Beth did only average, and Wash decided after his second white-card shot that guns were best left to the others.

Jamie settled in behind the gun, and gave a lackluster performance, almost perfunctorily pulling the trigger. After the second grouping, Jayne turned to him and said "Ya can shoot better than this. Why ya holding back? I'll give ya a mulligan on this first run. Shoot like yer life depended on it."

Jamie pulled the rifle in tight, drew the bead on each card, and almost as fast as automatic fire, pulled 9 shots in succession.

Jayne looked through the binoculars again, and put them down; put them to his eyes again and adjusted focus.

"Ya sure you didn't pull on the last shots in each card? I only see three holes."

Jamie shrugged slightly; he knew exactly where all 9 shots went.

Jayne's face dawned with slow comprehension. "Holy hell. Ya single-holed all of them?"

Jamie's face shut down a bit; Inara cocked her head and looked at him curiously. "Guess I did, Jayne. What'd I win?"

Jenny spoke up; "What does that mean, Jayne?"

Mal stepped closer. "It means that the rifle didn't move enough for the shots to remove more of the card than the first shot on each series. I ain't never seen someone shoot like that, not even River."

"Guess it's just beginner's luck." Jamie deadpanned. He looked through the stack of winnings; _ooh, two weeks of chores. No septic vac for me this month!_ There was a nice stack of a hundred or so platinum, and several favor chits. And there was one-he blushed, thinking that it probably wouldn't do to show that particular favor around, especially in mixed company.

Tom gave him a strange look.

* * *

><p>Tom cornered him on Serenity that evening. "Son, don't give me no go se about beginner's luck. You knew your way around that rifle like an old lover. S'obvious the crew knows. Tell me what's goin' on with you."<p>

Jamie told him the story. (Another repetition!) Tom managed to be stony-faced through all of it, although as comprehension dawned on him, he realized that this man had abandoned all of his comforts and priviliges for what he believed in. He clapped him on the shoulder, and went back outside where they were having another fire. Jamie followed, somewhat relieved; he wasn't particularly proud of anything in his past, but somehow it kept coming to light. He was glad it hadn't hurt the older man's estimation of him.

Inara pulled Jamie down beside her near the fire, and wrapped an arm around him as he pulled her closer. "Mmm, I'll give you a few weeks to stop doing that." she murmured as he rubbed the small of her back, slipping down to just above her hips occasionally.

"I'm getting used to this dirtside thing. It's a nice change of pace."

"So'm I. Although I wouldn't give up Serenity for anything, I'd like to take more time on planets."

"Maybe Captain can arrange for some stops between our jobs."

Zoe and Wash walked from behind the shop, looking bemused. They sat near to Mal and River.

"Mal, we may need to consider hiring on a cook."

"Shuh ma? Why would we need a...oh, no."

River grinned; she'd felt what was happening behind the shop.

"Well, we were just looking for a quiet spot, when we came on a strange sight." Wash deadpanned.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"I wouldn't go off half-cocked, Mal. She wasn't the one pushed up against the wall."

"She...she was the one kissing him?"

"Weren't like he was tryin' to get away, or nothin'. But he sure as hell wasn't forcin' it on her."

"Hell. Well, might as well start talkin' to Tom about the idea."

"Good luck sir. And by that I mean, try to make sure Jayne doesn't get shot right away."

* * *

><p>"Hey Tom."<p>

"Howdy, Mal. Caught 'em kissin'?"

"...Shuh ma?"

"Come on, Mal. I ain't a fool. Caught 'em once or twice my ownself."

"But Jayne ain't been shot yet..."

"Heh. If he were the one pushin' the kissin', I might have. I know my daughter though; she's the one turnin' these wheels."

"Well, I was considerin' that we sorta need a cook..."

"I figured you might. To be honest, havin' both my girls away's gonna be hard, but I ain't seen Jenny so happy as she's been these past few weeks. Jayne's a mite changed from last time you visited as well. S'long as he keeps her happy, and don't get her knocked up afore they're really serious, I can live with it."

"I'll take care of her like my own. I'll talk to her in a bit, if I can pry her away from him."

Kaylee's squeal could be heard across most of Kowlonshi when the news broke that Jenny would be joining them as a cook, but none were grinning quite so big as Jayne.

They set up one of the passenger dorms as a bunk for her; she actually got Inara's room, as they'd finally broken down the silly pretense that Inara actually slept there anymore.


	14. Chapter 14

Three days before they left Meadow, Jamie was unusually tense that morning; Inara could feel it in his shoulders.

"You've got to relax, Bao Bei. You'll injure yourself if you keep going about like this." she whispered, as she massaged his shoulders.

* * *

><p>It just hadn't been going well for him that day; after a certain clumsy gorilla dropped a crate on his feet, and someone accidentally turned off his cortex feed when he was working on something, the crew was trying to stay out of his way.<p>

He stalked in for dinner, and found the galley darkened. "Great." he muttered, going to the light switch. He flipped it on, and was stunned by the scene.

A colorfully decorated cake sat on the table, with 27 candles. A pile of wrapped packages sat to one side of the table, and everyone was gathered around, waiting for him to come in.

"Surprise!"

His face immediately went from pissed to pleased. Inara pulled him forward to the table, sitting him down and kissing his cheek. "Happy birthday, bao bei." Dinner was set on the table, and everyone fell to eating.

"How did you know my birthday?"

"I happen to know a girl who can read minds." Inara winked.

They had some excellent steak and fresh vegetables; Tom Frye had gotten the beef from a local butcher.

After eating, he blew out the candles on the cake and they ate; Jenny had outdone herself, both on the meal and the cake.

Moving to the open area near to the galley, they all sat down and chattered, while Jamie opened his gifts. All of the gifts were very nice; there was some cologne from Kaylee and Simon, which Inara smelled and immediately blushed over. Mal and River had managed to find a quality gold timepiece with a tough leather band. The other gifts were equally thoughtful and heartfelt.

Mal got a funny look on his face when Jamie finished. "Hmm, thought there was one more..."

"Really, I haven't had such a birthday in years. You've all done too much already."

Inara shushed him, as Mal reached behind a chair and pulled out a package about 10x14 inches.

Jamie opened it greedily; could it be? As soon as he saw the tactile dark grey material of the screen and felt it, he slowed and opened the package more carefully. It was a beautiful new data pad with a built-in cortex processor. He thought it felt a touch heavy; he turned it over to see the normally lightweight plastic covered with what looked like a mix of metals.

"From last time, we figured that the normal data pad wasn't quite tough enough, so we had Tom build a multi-layer armored back. Should be able to take hits and still keep running now. I'd still rather you didn't get shot at though."

He was actually feeling teary-eyed; "Thank you. All of you. This is such an unexpected pleasure...you have no idea how long it's been since I had such an amazing family to share my birthday with." River smirked; she knew exactly how long it was.

Inara kissed him on the cheek, wiping the single tear that had leaked out. "I haven't given you my gift yet, Ai Ren." She pulled out a small rectangular box. He opened it, suddenly terrified at what might be inside. It was a simple leather cord.

"What is this, bao bei?" he asked, somewhat confused, somewhat charmed.

She took it out of the box, and wrapped it three times around his neck, tying it tightly behind his head. Then she slipped her finger under her dress line and pulled up an identical cord. Jamie saw Wash and Zoe share a misty-eyed look; they wore similar cords.

"I love you, Jamie. I want to be with you. I don't want you to go anywhere."

"I love you too, baby. Remember; everything I am, nothing I'm not." he smiled, finally understanding what this was. It was a promise.

They brought a music player into the cargo bay, and everyone danced the night away, seemingly a whole family now.


	15. Chapter 15

The last few days were spent packing up, running tests, and making sure Serenity was ready to go. Jenny had had a tearful session with her parents the night before they left, but as they gathered at the ramp, there were no tears to be found.

Hugs and handshakes were exchanged, and Tom Frye looked at Mal with something like amusement in his eyes. "You take care of my daughters, now, ya hear?"

"Like they was my own."

Tom turned to Jayne, giving him a slightly harder look. "And you take care of my Jenny, dohn ma?"

Jayne gulped, much to the amusement of everyone, and said "Well, I ain't gonna say what Mal said, cuz that'd just be weird. But I'll take care of her with everythin' I got."

Tom smiled now, giving the slightly bigger man a bear hug. "I know ya will."

Tom and Beth watched as Serenity lifted off smoothly from the ground, and was soon gone to their sight. They saw a brief flash of light in the darkening sky, and turned around, heading back to their home; now a little emptier than it had been.

The night cycle started on Serenity, and Jayne was feeling restless. He got out of bed and pulled on a tshirt and sleep pants, along with the "cunning" hat his ma had knitted for him. He wandered about the passages of Serenity, surprised that everyone was asleep; he'd have expected to hear ...noises still this time of night.

He was surprised when he stepped onto the bridge and saw the strawberry blonde girl sitting on the ladder between the piloting stations, looking up at the stars.

She looked over her shoulder with a grin, and scooted over, patting beside her. He sat down carefully beside her, and wasn't at all surprised to feel her arm snaking around his waist.

"The Black is so beautiful; Kaylee always told me it was, but I thought it was just like looking at a night sky. It's different though."

"I reckon I ain't never looked at the Black like that, but it is on occasion nice to see. 'm much more comfortable with dirt beneath m'feet."

"You sound like you'd fit right in on Meadow." she teased gently.

"It's a nice planet, no doubt. Might be some day, when I'm too old and crotchety to be doin' this work nomore, I'll think on settlin' there."

They enjoyed the silence for a few moments, then Jayne felt her hand creeping under his shirt.

He looked down at her and put his hand on hers, forcing it to stop. She looked up at him questioningly. "Don't ya want me in yer bunk tonight?" she whispered.

"I'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not want ya in my bunk. Probably dead too. But you're too good a lady for that. I'm wantin' to do this right; not just a tumble, somethin' real. Been gettin' tumbles all muh life; never had the chance before fer somethin' real with a right proper lady like yerself."

"Jayne..." she said, touching his face gently. "I'm a mite surprised to hear ya say that, considerin' what the crew warned me about. It's definitely not an unpleasant surprise though. I knew I picked out the right one when I saw ya comin' down the ramp that first day."

"Ya mean, River didn't put you up to it or nothin' like that?"

"Please. I didn't need no help to see what kinda man ya are. Just needed help baitin' the trap, as River put it." she smiled.

He smiled, and they looked up at the Black again.

Mal stepped quietly back from his hiding place at the base of the stairs, a big smile on his face. He'd been making his rounds when he heard the voices from the bridge, and decided to hear Jayne speak his piece. Turned out to be the right time to do it, too.

He slid back down to his bunk and stripped down, climbing under the sheets with River again. She curled her back up into him again soon as he was settled, and he wrapped his arms around her, thinking _I really do love this girl. Maybe oughta be doin' some actin' on that m'self._

River smiled, her face hidden by her hair, then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>It took a few days for everyone to get into the swing of things on Serenity again; 4 weeks of land-bound living tended to throw off the body clock. Jenny seemed to have the hardest of times, getting used to the day and night cycles especially. Occasionally Mal would run into her at odd hours of the night, just wandering the corridors sleeplessly. Other times she could be found napping on a couch in day cycle. A few days of routine helped straighten it out though, and when they landed on Kerry to give Badger a lift back to Persephone, everyone was mostly in the groove of things again.<p>

"Hey, Badger." Mal greeted him as he walked up the ramp; "'Ello, Mal. Thanks fer th' lift back home."

"No problems Badger, we was heading that way anyways." Within a few minutes, after fueling and stocking up on water, Serenity took off and headed for the Black again.

* * *

><p>At dinner that night, Badger noticed the pretty girl cooking dinner and immediately turned on the charm. "Well, 'ello there love. 'oo might you be?"<p>

"Name's Jenny. Nice ta meetcha, Badger." she said brightly, shaking his hand before returning to her cooking. Badger heard a growling noise, and was surprised to turn around and see Jayne glaring at him, teeth slightly bared. He was even more surprised when Jenny turned back around and glared at Jayne; "Keep that up and there'll be no dessert for you, mister." Jayne's face immediately went neutral; "Yes, Ma'am." he muttered, and sat down again.

"Well well well. Seems the little beauty of a cook 'as gone an' caught herself a mercenary." Badger grinned; the other crew grinned as well, enjoying seeing Jayne discomfited.

"Well, anyways, this is a right fine meal, li'l miss. Might be I'll take passage on Serenity more often." he winked at Mal.

"Sorry Badger," Jenny grinned at him as she sat down after putting the food out. "Only one man on Serenity I've got my eye on." Jayne grinned at her, and turned his attention to the food.

* * *

><p>The small Alliance long-range scout ship swept through the Georgia system for the 3rd time; they'd still not found any trace of the lost Howard class corvette that they were looking for. A warrant officer on the main scanners saw a Firefly pass, <em>probably on a course to Persephone<em>, and ran a quick check of their record; he saw no outstanding warrants, not even a law force flag, and turned his attention to other matters.

Three days later, they finally found something; there was a radiation leakage coming from the Dylan asteroid cluster, just off of Kerry. They approached, and saw the small ship torn into probably hundreds of pieces, if not thousands. The captain looked over the wreckage; it looked picked-over. Scavengers had probably hit it. He wasn't relishing telling this to his two creepy passengers; they had produced the authority, somehow, for him to sweep through this system a couple of times. Whoever had the horsepower to drive that much fuel expenditure for a wrecked corvette had to be at the very least high government. They'd head back to the core soon to drop off his passengers on Londinium.

* * *

><p>"The wreck could have simply been mistaken navigation; it is in too many pieces to tell otherwise."<p>

"I disagree; the forward section appeared to have massive surface burns. What could have done such damage?"

"The full burn from a ship?"

"Do you think they perhaps got too close to someone they were trailing?"

"It is possible. Unlikely with Team 3 though. They were excellent pilots."

"This situation is beginning to become a problem. We should return immediately and begin reacquiring Subject 0173 and Subject Monroe."

"Although it seems unlikely, we should begin our inquiries on Persephone. Serenity stops there periodically, usually to meet their associate Bertram Eaton."

"It is a logical place to begin. Should we liquidate Eaton?"

"Eaton may have gone to ground since Team 6 took him hostage. He will be more difficult to find, and his new protection will immediately shoot to kill rather than give us the benefit of the doubt."

"We should call in a second team of troubleshooters. Team 9 will suffice."

"Then we must begin staking out the docks. Serenity will return, sooner or later. When she does, we will get what we need."

"Yes...both subjects."


	16. Chapter 16

Serenity broke atmo over Eavesdown and landed quickly; in front of the slip where she was landed, a small group of burly toughs waited. Badger departed with a wave of his hand and met with his new bodyguards; he'd shaved his scraggly beard and dressed in clothing he'd bought on Kerry, hopefully protecting him long enough to get into hiding again. The crew waved back; Badger was becoming more like an old friend than the ornery crime boss he'd been before.

Not long after Badger left, a hovertruck arrived and landed just off the ramp. A tall, slender man wearing a decent suit got out and greeted Mal, who had walked down the ramp to meet him. Several laborers got off the back of the truck, where they'd been riding on the heavy steel crates, and began lugging them up the ramp, under Zoe's close supervision.

"Samuel." Mal said, shaking the man's hand.

"How's business, Mal?" said Samuel; he was one of Sir Warrick Harrow's agents, and often worked with Mal and Serenity to move Sir Harrow's goods around the 'Verse.

"Doin' good, Samuel. Just had the chance to take a break, and tryin' ta get back into the groove again."

"Sounds good, Mal. Did Sir Warrick tell you where these need to go?"  
>"Yea, he mentioned that they were for the new miner's co-op on Silverhold. 'Pparently they hit a nice strike of nickel and aluminum."<p>

"That's right, Captain. I'm surprised at how well-informed you are now; that new strike hasn't been announced yet. They've only had the miners on location for 2 or 3 months."

Mal grinned. "Well, I got somebody who keeps abreast of the news pretty close now."

"Well, sounds like you've got your course all set then."

"Surely do. Take care now." Mal said, shaking Samuel's hand again.  
>"You too, Captain.<p>

* * *

><p>The Alliance scout ship set down at a Blue Sun landing pad, and the two Blue Hands departed, entering the corporate facility. After breaking atmo back into the Black, on their way back to their normal patrol route off of Osiris, Commander Jeff Li sent a personal 'Wave to his brother, infantry Captain William Li at the 003 Secure Facility on Persephone, telling him about the unusual passengers he had been obliged to carry.<p>

* * *

><p>At dinner that night, the Captain let everyone know where they were headed.<p>

"This cargo run fer Lord Harrow is takin' us to Silverhold; 'parently they're having some good luck with an aluminum mining co-op there. Found a new lode of ore, needin' some new mining tools."

"Sounds like the folks on Silverhold're doin' well fer themselves." Jayne grunted.

"The drop shouldn't be much; our runs fer Sir Harrow tend to go smooth. What I wanted to talk ta ya about is that it occurs to me that Silverhold's moon is Beggar's Tin. Seems to me we got friends on that moon."

Kaylee's face lit up. "Shiny! We gonna visit Petaline and her girls?"

"It crossed my mind. Reckon it's been a while since we've been out this way, and I'm sure they'd like to see us. Just got a 'Wave from Petaline when we were on Meadow, askin' if we were comin' out any time soon. Guess they've been getting a mite more business since that mining co-op got more profitable, and the girls'd be right happy for an excuse for a break. That is, if nobody on the crew'd like to partake of their services." Mal grinned, eyeing Jayne, who tried to sink into his seat and disappear when Jenny gave him a glare.

"Don't think that'll be happenin' this time about, Mal." Jayne muttered. Jenny grinned, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Everybody chuckled. Kaylee said, "It's been a right long time since we saw the girls; since Nandi-" and cut off, suddenly remembering herself: too late. She expected to see Mal shut down, lose his good humor.

"You're right little Kaylee; it has been a long time. I don't think Nandi'd want us to avoid visiting forever though." Mal said, a wistful smile on his face. River smiled up at him, taking his hand.

Inara gave him a thoughtful look at that, then glanced at Jamie; he was frowning slightly, probably trying to figure out what was going on. _Usually he's better at figuring out faces,_ she thought.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Inara followed Mal and River. River looked back knowingly, then escaped to the bridge as Inara stopped Mal. "Mal. I'm a bit surprised at how you handled talking about Nandi."<p>

He looked down at her for a second, trying to figure her game. Since Jamie had joined them, she hadn't tried to make him react to things; why was that changin' now?

"...It's long done. Long past time fer me to set aside regrets for things I couldn't control. We shared something special that night; 'course I didn't realize at the time how that'd make you feel, and I'm sorry about that."

_He's never apologized for something like this before!_ she thought. "Mal, is something wrong?"

He seemed to guess the roots of her question, _I swear, he's becoming more like River every day. Seems to be turning Reader himself._ "No, 'Nara, just that being with River's made me realize more 'bout the things I'm thinkin' and doin'. Havin' her able to hear everythin' I'm thinkin' makes me think more about what it is I'm fillin' her mind up with. 'Sides, I'm a might happier than I have been in a long time. Seems silly to be gloomy 'bout things that are past and done with."

Inara smiled then. "I'm glad, Mal. We fought and sniped and found every manner of reason to hurt each other; I'm glad you've got somebody to anchor you."

He smiled, a very big brother smile. "And I'm glad you've got somebody to keep ya worried fer 'em," he winked. "'Course, him bein' a younger man's gotta help."

"Mal!" she smacked him on the arm, then gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, grinning as she did so. "Go find your pilot, I'm sure she's been listenin' in."

River yelled back from the bridge "Have not!"

* * *

><p>Inara wandered down to the dorms, thinking about Nandi; she'd tried to keep the thoughts from her mind for a long time, because of the conflict they carried with Mal. Now that that conflict seemed to be gone, she could think wistfully on her closest friend again. She found herself sitting on the catwalk in the cargo bay, looking out over the sealed crates below. She realized she was crying, sobbing silently with her shoulders shaking.<p>

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, then on her face, pulling it up. "Hey, bao bei. What's wrong?"

He sat down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder, still weeping. He waited for her patiently. Finally, the tears gone, she turned to look up at him.

"2 years ago, we received a wave from a very close friend of mine, a former Companion. She had taken up ownership of a brothel on Beggar's Tin, fought for it out of the hands of exploiters. She worked hard to give those girls freedom, prosperity, and family...

"A local thug by the name of Rance Burgess got a child on one of Nandi's girls; his barren prairie shrew couldn't bear his child, so he thought he'd get it out of her. Nandi asked for help. We went in; Mal and I scouted Burgess, and whatever feel Mal got off the man spooked him. He wanted to leave, bring the girls with us and get off the planet, but Nandi refused.

"We set up to defend the house, barricaded, and got everybody armed. Petaline went into labor at about the same time, so Simon, River and I were helping deliver her child.

"I didn't find out until the morning, but Mal and Nandi had...well, they were comforting each other. I actually broke down; I hadn't realized how I felt until then. I think Nandi knew by then too.

"Then, in the fight, Burgess snuck into the house and tried to take the baby. I had the huen dahn under a knife, but he managed to break free and killed her. Mal caught up to him and stopped him, and Petaline killed the ta ma duh herself.

"I decided to leave Serenity that day. Biggest damn mistake I ever made." she whispered, her eyes shining up at Jamie now.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's past; something Mal just said made me realize that."

"I'm glad. It'll be nice to meet these girls, in any case."

"I doubt Jenny'll be very happy with it, but I think it'll work out, despite the fact that Jayne was very tight with one of the ladies there."

"Heh. I'd imagine so. From what you say though, he's definitely a different man. I actually feel kinda sorry for the girl at the house; she's gonna be expecting something she's not gonna find."

"I do too. Hopefully it isn't a problem."

"Well, nothing can be done for it now." he said, pushing himself up and pulling her to her feet. "Gettin' a might tired, thinking on retiring."

"Surely you don't think you'll be getting any actual sleep?" she said, her eyes twinkling.

"I know you better than that to even be thinking it." he smiled.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Eaton is proving difficult to find. I have attempted to contact 3 of our former informants on the docks, but they have vanished. I think Mr. Eaton has perceived the security holes in his organization, and is taking steps to neutralize the problem."<p>

"What of the Alliance?"

"Unfortunately, although the Alliance has a fairly large presence on Persephone, Eavesdown and Bath are the territories of criminals and smugglers. Our informants in Eaton's organization were much more reliable sources of either information or influence than the Alliance presence."

"Then we should take up watch ourselves. I shall call another team to assist us."

"Once Serenity lands in Eavesdown again, we will need to act immediately; but we should not leave one of our ships where it can provide a clue to our presence."

"There is a secure Alliance facility where we can hold the subjects after their capture until we can move them off planet in a covert Alliance transport."

"Then we should make overtures to the facility commander so we can immediately make use of it once the event occurs."

* * *

><p>The dropoff at Silverhold went smoothly; instead of going through the local docks, they landed on a small pad right near the mines. After some chatter with the mine foreman, and accepting an invitation to join the miners at the local pub for a few, they got back aloft a bit later than intended. The miners had been good folk; rather than the usual corporate wogs from a big mining corp, this local co-op had complete autonomy, giving them a bit more freedom than usual.<p>

They were only 2 hours from Beggar's Tin; with the usual delicate touch from Wash (apart from the alcohol-induced bumps on landing), Serenity made it down with style and grace.

Lucy looked out the front window of the house; she saw the ship coming for a landing, and didn't recognize her for a moment. "Petaline! We've got somebody landing out there."

"That shuttle from Silverhold ain't due until tomorrow. Who is it?" she drawled, coming up to the window. Looking out, she saw the distinctive shape, and also saw the ramp opening and a group of people come out.

"Well, I'll be damned. Ladies, we got visitors! Looks like some old friends."

Lucy's eyes brightened as she recognized them. "I hadn't expected to see them so soon!"

"Looks like they're here now. Let's welcome 'em in style!"

* * *

><p>Petaline and most of her girls came out of the house to greet their visitors; the others were getting dressed up.<p>

"Mal Reynolds! It is a surprise to see y'all comin' by here."

"Petaline. Pleasure to see ya again, little lady." Mal got pulled into a hug by Petaline, with River close behind to claim the second hug. "How are ya doin, sweetie?"

"I'm doing much better, Petaline."

"Darlin', there's somethin' a mite different about ya."

"Many things have changed." she smiled.

Helen ran up to Jayne, almost throwing herself into his arms before something caught her eye; he was holding the hand of the pretty little girl next to him. _That_ was new.

"Jayne Cobb, ya gonna introduce me ta yer friend?"

"Howdy, Helen. This here's my little lady, Jenny."

"Jenny, darlin'; it's a pleasure to meetcha." Helen greeted Jenny as warmly as she could, despite the little pit of jealousy in her belly.

"Likewise." Jenny said, suspicious of this blonde beauty. Jayne, in one of his rare flashes of insight, saw the fire igniting between the eyes of these two women. "Jenny, can I talk to ya a second?"

"If'n ya want." Jenny turned on her heel, walking back out of the house.

"Gorramit." the big man muttered under his breath. Helen grimaced; she hadn't meant to cause trouble, just didn't see that the two of them were together in time. Jayne followed the little strawberry blonde out; Helen could see that Kaylee, the other girl, _damn, they look a lot alike,_ had seen the spat.

"Howdy there. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name last time."

"It's Helen."

"Honey, I know that Jayne was pretty interested in you last time, but he's in a relationship with my sister now. Ya aren't gonna cause trouble with that, are ya?" she asked. Helen remembered that the girl had been sunny and cheerful last time, but she had somehow put on another face this time that was much harder. _Where had she learned how to do that?_

"I wasn't tryin' to cause trouble, honey. I just...I didn't see him holdin' her hand in time. I'm sorry."

The cheer returned to Kaylee's face. "It's alright, honey. Just wanted to make sure you knew where everyone stood."

"He was so good to me last time; she's sure a lucky girl."

"They haven't even done that yet, I don't think."

"Really? She really is a lucky girl then, if he's willin' to wait until she's ready."

Kaylee giggled; "I don't really think it's a problem with her. He's got this notion in his head that he's going to do this relationship all proper, and I don't think he's seen yet that he really doesn't need to wait any more."

"Maybe I should give 'em a small push then."

"Well, let 'em talk first. See if ya even need to."

* * *

><p>"Jenny, gorramit, hold on!" Jayne yelled as he ran to catch up with her, finally catching her by the arm and turning her about.<p>

"What? Why aren't ya with her, then? I saw the way she was lookin' at ya."

"Jenny...if'n it were like that, I wouldn't be with you. I wouldn't have made that promise ta yer pa."

"Ni ta ma de! Why would you be with me? She's so much gorram prettier, more schooled, musta caught yer eye-or somethin' else!"

"Jenny, I'm with you because I love ya."

She was silent...her face stunned.

"...Ya...love me?"

"Yes, bao bei, I love ya. Can't see as if I've ever said it to anybody but muh Ma before; that should tell ya how I feel."

"Jayne..." the rest of her sentence was lost as he swept her up into a crushing hug.

He picked her up and carried her off towards Serenity; the visit with Petaline's ladies forgotten suddenly.

Kaylee looked out the window and smiled brightly, with Helen smiling next to her.

"See? Ya didn't need ta say a word." Kaylee piped, then went back to greeting the other ladies.

* * *

><p>Mal looked around the room, suddenly missing Jayne and Jenny; he'd meant to introduce his new cook to Petaline. Kaylee walked over, sidling up next to the captain.<p>

"They won't be around fer a while."

"They won't...oh, ta ma de."

"That it is, cap'n!"

Petaline giggled.

* * *

><p>It was pleasant seeing Petaline's girls again, without the threat of Rance Burgess looming over them. It turned out that the new mining strike on Silverhold had meant a great influx of new customers; a regular shuttle service brought in miners from the planet, that had no compulsions against ladies of pleasure like the slightly puritanical locals. Even they had started to ease up though, after Burgess had eaten a bullet from Petaline's revolver. Seems he had been the biggest agitator. The ladies were actually doing prosperously; the house had been expanded in size and amenities, and there were some new faces. Most of the old core of girls was still there though, those that hadn't been killed in the fight against Burgess; and all of the girls were family.<p>

Even 2 year old Jonah lived in the house; he was kept sheltered from the seedier aspects of how they lived, but Petaline hoped that being raised in this environment would prevent him from developing the puritanical morality that had caused them such problems before. The little boy was big for his age, and had a whole passle of mothers; he had every single one of them wrapped around his finger, too. It wasn't very long before he had the crew of Serenity wrapped up too, so that Kaylee started giving Simon wistful looks that he studiously avoided.

* * *

><p>Jamie woke early the next day, still a bit tired, but not nearly as hung over as the rest of them. He had been having feelings all night, and only had one or two drinks before stopping so that he could remain sober. He had learned to respect and trust his instincts a long time ago; they'd never steered him wrong.<p>

He sat down at the copilot console and brought up the cortex, and wasn't particularly surprised to find several ship auto distress beacons alarming in the space near Silverhold; the planet was in a conjunction with the Burnham quadrant, the nearest it could get. He brought up the sensor arrays, and although the atmosphere gave him some static, he could pick up the radiation signatures even from here. Reaver ships, more than 2 of them; only an hour or less away.

He pulled up the com, and yelled "Everybody up and going! Reavers en route, eta 1 hour! I ain't funnin', neither." he said, slamming the com receiver back into its cradle.

River and Mal were in the bridge within 20 seconds, the others not far behind; most were in various states of undress, with only hastily pulled on clothes.

"Where are they headed?"

"Can't tell yet; the town and Petaline's place are the only places near here where they could go though, unless they're heading for Silverhold."

River started to whisper now that her senses were picking them up. "I feel more than hundreds Mal they're hurting and fearful and raging and oh god!" she shrieked, as a spike of pain hit her.

"Shh, River, calm down. Put the walls up, honey. Don't let 'em get in."

After a few moments, she had shut down; her face, normally bright and open, was flat and blank, her eyes a bit dull. "They're coming." she said, and strode off to her and Mal's bunk. The others followed, gathering up weapons and body armor, and gearing up quickly.

River emerged from the bunk with weapons strapped all over her body, and a long, crooked, wavy-bladed sword. "Purloined Reaver weapon most appropriate at this time." Mal hadn't seen her handle it in two years, and he was suddenly a little afraid of her.

* * *

><p>Geared up in only a few minutes, they pelted over to the house, waking the girls quickly.<p>

"Reavers? Wu de tyen ah." Petaline murmured, then turned to the girls, barking orders. Several of the oldest and youngest girls gathered up Jonah and a few weapons and headed for the cellar.

"Petaline, I want you and your girls to go with 'em. Keep 'em safe, and take Jenny and Kaylee with you."

"Like hell, Cap'n. These animals want me, they can come get me." Jenny said confidently, as she checked the large bore shotgun Jayne had tossed her, and strapped the 9 mm pistol onto her hip. Jayne grinned slightly at the sight of the little woman handling heavy firepower.

"She's right, Cap'n. We ain't leavin' ya behind." Kaylee put in, checking the little submachine gun she was comfortable with.

"And I ain't lettin' those animals in here without a fight. This is our home." Petaline strode over to a wood panel behind the bar, and opening it, started pulling out weapons and ammo, tossing them to the girls. She also pulled a control lever on a small panel, and metal panels slid down over the windows, leaving only firing slits. Barriers slid over the doors, blocking them from opening without substantial damage.

Petaline had a small communications console, through which they could hear the screams in the nearby town; finally, River herself turned it off, then took up her position at the main door.

Everyone was spread out throughout the house, at all the doors and windows, with rifles at the upstairs windows.

They were coming.


	17. Chapter 17

They could hear the engines of the Reaver ships before they saw them; the ships all ran very hot, lacking the reactor safeguards of normal ships. Finally they came into view, hovering very near the house; with Serenity completely shut down and sealed up, they went for the power signature of the house. Ropes and ziplines shot down, and the terrifying yet familiar forms of Reavers slid down them, running wildly up to the house. There was silence for a moment, then a thundering crack signaled Vera's first contribution to the battle, as the Reaver in the head of the screaming mass dropped suddenly. A reply of chattering arms fire came from the rest of the house, as Reavers began to drop. They continued to drop from the ships, though, and soon were able to approach the house enough to tear at its walls and doors.

Another wave of Reavers dropped at the periphery of the house before the long-arms began to run out of ammo; more than 50 Reavers had already died, but they kept coming.

Mal began to feel a wave of panic as they tore at the doors; two of Petaline's girls and Jayne had already been hit by wicked barbed projectiles. No-one was dead yet, which was already a miracle, but their ammo was running low and the Reavers were becoming less leery of showing their faces in the windows. They were humped; everyone inside was already feeling it.

The front door finally broke in, from a heavy Reaver axe, and Jenny was grabbed and pulled out, her fingers holding only just on the doorway. "No!" Jayne bellowed, but with a spiked projectile in his leg, couldn't get there to help.

Then, River happened. The sword slid off her back smoothly, and she leapt out into the writhing mass of Reavers, spinning about suddenly where she hit, the blade shearing off limbs and heads. The Reavers stopped pulling on Jenny, and the others pulled her back in; Mal looked out and saw River facing off with the horde of animals, just for a moment before they charged; she looked so small and alone, that before he knew what he was doing he burst out the door and snagged another of the jagged Reaver swords off the ground, slashing at the Reavers between him and River. He found himself standing back to back with her, for a moment terrified, then he felt something flow from her into him; he felt elements of her grace, her training, her speed. What he didn't feel was his strength, will and determination flow back into her. Together, almost tied together at the waist, the two spun about in a tight dance of death. He felt nicks and cuts from projectiles and blades, but something silenced the pain instantly; River again, he was sure. He felt as she must at times like this; cold, calculating, without fear. Parry up, slash across, stab out to catch the large one there; he felt as though it was an intricate dance that would only end when there were no more to kill. It didn't matter that he had no idea how to handle a sword; with her with him, it seemed natural.

He was vaguely aware of the others in the house, picking off stragglers and trying to take down the creatures at the edges of the circling pack, but were afraid of hitting Mal or River; _if they were even alive._

For a few seconds after the last Reaver fell, the dust was still too high to see; after a few seconds, though, the crew of Serenity could see two figures standing side by side. Just then, Mal felt the connection that had held him up through the fight break; he stumbled over the pile of Reaver corpses, cataloguing an entire arsenal of new cuts and bruises; thankfully nothing serious. He looked down at the sword in his hand. _Huh. Thing comes in right handy._

River looked at him out of the corner of her eye; _Now you know why I keep mine._ He marvelled for a moment at the way her mental messages were always clearer than her spoken ones.

The others came out of the house, watching the two landed ships carefully; no more Reavers came out, and carefully, Mal and River entered. They came out again a few moments later, faces about 3 shades paler than before.

* * *

><p>Almost everyone was injured, scratched, or bruised; but none died. Two of Petaline's girls were hit with the wicked spiked projectiles, and would need time to recover, but they would be fine. Jayne had taken 2 through the right leg; he'd be laid up for a few days, but didn't seem to be very perturbed about it, especially with the way Jenny was eyeing him.<p>

They all pitched in on burying the Reavers. Whatever they were in life, they deserved a decent burial. The Reaver ships were moved a distance away, then burned.

Serenity and her crew took off the next day, with wistful goodbyes to Petaline and her ladies. Helen had closeted herself with Jenny for a few hours; Jenny emerged later with a gleam in her eye and a smile on her face. Mal didn't altogether like that smile; it spoke of things he didn't want to know about.

* * *

><p>After taking a few leisurely simple haulage trips between Greenleaf, Paquin, and New Melbourne, they got a 'Wave from Badger for another job.<p>

River couldn't adequately explain to Mal what had happened with the Reavers.

"I've been working on new ways to use the powers I have, but that is not one of them. I do not know if it is perhaps a conjunction of our natural abilities, or what else it could be."

* * *

><p>For the two days to Persephone, Jamie was nervous, and River began to act uneasy; neither of them could explain anything other than a bad feeling, but the crew had long since learned to trust River's instincts, and Jamie's as well.<p>

They landed in Eavesdown, getting what was becoming their usual slot at the docks. Mal admonished them to be cautious.

"Travel in pairs. Don't be wanderin' about alone. Always go armed. Try not to be showin' the hardware off, but if'n ya have to, carry somethin' a mite heavier."

There were nods and murmured responses; they'd had enough troubles on Persephone before, that noone wanted to take the chance.

"Jayne, you an' me'll go see Badger, see about this new job. He's all set up in a new place, he's offered to send someone to lead us there. I'm not feelin' so worried 'bout Badger anymore, but just in case, you should have Vera with.

"Jamie, you and Riv get us ammo'd up.

"Inara and Simon, see to stocking the infirmary.

"Wash, see to water and fuel; we may be doin' some long hauls so we'll need the bunkerage.

"Kaylee, you an' Zoe get us stocked up with food. Kay, make sure we've got the spare parts we need. Jenny, keep the ship safe. You can lock up behind us, just be ready to open up when we get there."

"Shouldn't be a prob, cap. Everything's shiny right now."

"Good. Let's get to work, people."

* * *

><p>"I just received word from our agent in the docking office; Serenity just docked at Eavesdown."<p>

"Excellent. Team 1, go to Serenity and attempt to secure the ship."

"And Team 2, attempt to acquire Subjects 0173 and Monroe."

"It shouldn't be an issue." the Blue Hand pulled on one of the gloves over his hand; his partner pulled on the opposite arm's glove.

* * *

><p>Jamie was feeling more nervous than before; although River was with him, and she was usually more than sufficient to meet the task, she seemed distractible enough herself.<p>

"Something wrong?"

"I'm feeling too much static. Too many minds pressing on me. Should have stayed on Serenity."

"I know what you mean. Although I can't feel them the way you do, too many people in one place presses on my senses too."

"It's something else...being followed."

"I know. I've been watching for a while."

"Weren't you going to say something?"

"I was pushing the thoughts at you; didn't you hear?"

"No."

"Sonuva..." As Jamie and River turned into a narrow alley, 2 thugs stepped in to block each end. Jamie and River smirked at each other, then tightened up into a back-to-back combat formation.

Both were surprised when two figures thumped down within feet of them, from the 30 foot high buildings on each side.

"Eta karoom na smech!" one of the agents said calmly, then, as River tumbled to the ground, both turned to Jamie, closing in on each side. Jamie barely had time to key the mike on his communicator before they were on him, and he was fighting for his life.

* * *

><p>"Mal-" his communicator squawked, then went silent.<p>

Mal keyed the communicator, saying "What's up?"

Static answered him.

"That sounded like Jamie."

"It did."

"Jamie, you there?"

He could hear, above the static, the sounds of exertion; it sounded distinctly like somebody taking a beating.

"Gorramit. Jayne, where would they go?"

"Riv usually goes to Shen's Armory for ammo, Wu Shen's got a thing fer her and she gets a discount."

"Gents, what's happ'nin?" Badger asked, a bit confused.

"Looks like some damn thing's gone wrong. We're gonna have to get back to ya, Badger. Gotta go check this out."

"No prob, Reynolds. Come back when ye're ready fer the job, ain't got a time limit on it."

"Thanks Badger." Mal said, already distracted as he and Jayne rushed out. They ran for Shen's Armory, but before they reached it, Jayne's tracking instincts began to light up.

He knelt suddenly, examining the ground in an alley that led to Shen's. "Footmarks here. Saw fresh treadmarks from a couple of pairs of crappy boots at the end of the alley, wager there'd be some more at the other end. Ground here looks like Jamie's handiwork; boy likes to leave the ground a bit too often fer my tastes in a fight. Don't see any of River's usual dance moves around though. Got two pair of nice shoes on the other side, doin' lot of locks and throws."

Mal had wandered to the side, saw the blood slowly congealing on the dirt ground. His own blood suddenly seemed to boil. "Lio Coh Jwei Ji Neong Hur Ho Deh Yung Duh Buhn Jah J'wohn." He found the knotted cord that he had seen Inara put around Jamie's neck, torn carelessly and tossed to the side. Beside it, he found the little silver charm necklace he had given River on their 6 month, the silver chain snapped. He gathered both into his hand.

"Sonuvabitch. Musta been a snatch." Jayne said coolly; his hunter's mind already looking for clues.

"Tai Kong Suo You Di Xing Qui Dou Sai Jin Wo De Pi Gu!" Mal nearly shouted; Jayne turned around and saw the captain nearly losing it; he could hear the desperation in his voice. He decided quickly; a quick right cross to the cheek, followed by grabbing the Captain's shoulders and shaking slightly seemed to bring the Captain out of it for the moment; he focused on Jayne, eyes burning red.

"We ain't gonna be findin' 'em if'n we're sittin' around here swearin'. We gotta get back to Serenity, figure out a way to get 'em back. Looks like the huen dahns wearing nice shoes carried two loads to a groundcar at the entrance of the alley; gotta assume it's Jamie and River."

Mal only nodded, not trusting to speak right now without losing his temper again.

* * *

><p>Jenny was cleaning up in the kitchen, thinking about what to make for dinner when she heard the faint whine of the bay door. Were they back already?<p>

She heard a pair of steps, almost as though they were in lock step; suddenly, she got a creepy feeling, almost as if she didn't want to be seen just now. She ducked behind the galley counter just before the footsteps entered the galley; she waited silently to hear who it was.

"Disappointing. It appears that they left Serenity unguarded."

"Quite so. It should be simple to secure the ship from here, and move her to a secure docking facility. Without their escape route, the rest of the crew should be simple to capture."

Jenny fumed; she suddenly had a very bad feeling about her family. She reached up under the counter, felt the familiar weight of a medium frame 9mm automatic that Jayne had hidden under there. She drew the gun, taking comfort in its solid compactness. She slid the safety off, then stood quickly, whirling about into a solid shooting stance.

"Far enough, huen dahns."

The two Hands turned suddenly; the girl had hidden quite admirably. She looked almost like the young engineer of Serenity, but slightly taller, somewhat harder of face, with her strawberry blonde hair pulled back into a severe tail. The gun was held steadily in her hands, pointing unwaveringly at them.

"Please, miss. Put down your weapon, before you do something you regret." the taller agent said, pulling a cylinder from his pocket.

The automatic barked twice, then twice more, as Jenny doubletapped both of them.

"Don't regret it at all." she snarled.

* * *

><p>Wash was coming back from the fuel station when he saw the open bay of Serenity, and began running. Soon as he entered the bay, he heard 4 shots; he put on a burst of speed up the catwalk stairs, and burst into the galley to see Jenny standing in the galley, safing a gun and putting it in her belt. Two black-suited agents with blue hands lay on the ground, heads a bloody wreck.<p>

"Wuo de mah!"

* * *

><p>Kaylee and Zoe arrived just after Wash, after visiting the food store and arranging delivery within the hour. They found Wash looking a bit jittery; he was standing with Jenny, who appeared completely cool, but to Kaylee's experienced eyes, she was screaming inside.<p>

"What the gorram..." Zoe began, seeing the dead bodies; then she saw the blue gloves, and pieces snicked into place.

"Wash, get to the bridge and call the captain!" Zoe commanded; Wash immediately took off for the bridge.

* * *

><p>"They tried to get Serenity, too? Wuo de mah!" Mal exclaimed.<p>

"What happened, Mal?" Jayne asked.

"Jenny cold-cocked two Hands that got on Serenity."

"That's m'girl." Jayne said quietly, a touch of pride on his face.

"Wash, we think a second team got River and Jamie." Mal said, his voice breaking before he said their names.

"Lao Tien Fu!" he exclaimed over the comm; "Soon's we get the deliveries and fuel we can take off to look for them."

"Not yet, Wash. Gotta talk to Badger again first."

* * *

><p>"Not expectin' t'see ya again so soon, Mal...what's happened?"<p>

"Jamie and River are missing."

"Shen me?"

"_Jamie and River are missing!_" Mal thundered; nearly sending Badger ass over teakettle. "Who did you tell?"

Badger's face was pale, but not with guilt. "Mal, I 'aven't told a soul you were in town, includin' me boys. Only told them when they had to show you ta the new hideout."

"Tian Xia Suo You De Ren Dou Gai Si!"

"Boys, let's lock down the place while I'm gone. Jensen, Friert, ye're wi' me. Well Mal, we gonna get back ta Serenity'r what?" Badger said, while gathering gear from his desk; a tactical holster and automatic pistol slid into his bag, while his bodyguards gathered heavier automatic weapons and gunbags.

"Ye're makin' it mighty hard ta hate ya, Badger." Mal said, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Just part of my cunnin' charm." the crime boss said cheekily.

* * *

><p>Everyone had arrived back on Serenity (<em>minus two, that is<em>) and the supplies had just been delivered when Mal and Jayne strode back up the ramp, followed by Badger and his men.

"Sir? What's goin' on?" Zoe asked, seeing the crime boss and his bodyguards. She had her Mare's Leg in hand.

"River and Jamie are missing. Kidnapped. We're going to go get 'em. Badger and his boys are along for the ride." Zoe didn't mention it, but could hear the Captain's carefully cultivated control cracking at the seams as he talked. She didn't like the look of him; she had seen this face before, on Haven just after finding Shepherd Book.

"Jensen, Friert." Badger indicated with his head to each bodyguard as he named them.

"Afternoon, boys." Zoe said coolly.

"I've gotta get on the Cortex, hopefully I can find some trace of where the Hands are going there."

"You goin' ta be able to get that info wi'out Jamie? He's the hacker here, if'n I recall correctly."

Inara walked in, her eyes red from crying, trails of tears on her face. "Jamie has been teaching Mal about the trade for more than a month now."

Zoe looked up, surprised. _How did he manage to slip that past me?_

Mal met her gaze, steadily but not without a swirl of madness beneath the exterior.

Zoe suddenly began to feel a touch bad for the huen dahns that had taken River and Jamie; only for a moment though. They had crossed a line; a thick, dark one.

Badger followed Reynolds as he headed for the bridge.

* * *

><p>Jamie came back to consciousness slowly, drifting through various levels of consciousness. The first thing that registered was monstrous pain. He tried to move, but found that his body wouldn't respond. He turned his head barely, just enough to see the second stretcher in the room, where River lay, still unconscious.<p>

He tried to examine the room, but couldn't look around enough to see more than the standard-issue hospital ceiling and the door without an inner latch or lock. There was a mirrored window in one wall. He did feel that it was cold; probably no more than 50 degrees.

"River" he croaked, voice weak and cracking.

He was rewarded with her eyes slowly coming open, and she looked over and saw him; shock and surprise suddenly flooded her flat brown eyes.

"Oh, god, Jamie." she said, swiftly escaping the standard hospital retraints on the bed. She stood next to Jamie, and began checking his injuries.

"You've lost a lot of blood; it looks like they gave you rudimentary first aid, but you need to see Simon soon, or you could-" her voice broke before she could finish the sentence.

"River, listen to me." he whispered. "You've gotta get out of here any way you can. Don't try to wait for me, I won't be of any use."

"No, Jamie. I'm not leaving you." her voice hardened suddenly, and he saw her crumbling control suddenly solidify.

He suddenly realized that both of them were in their unders, nearest thing to being naked. River began to shiver as she realized it too. She cast her eyes around, then saw a blanket sitting on a counter, folded up. She snatched it, then climbed up onto the stretcher, curling up on top of Jamie as gently as she could and pulling the blanket over them.

"River, what-"

"Shared body warmth. We need to conserve what heat we can. Besides, you _are_ my Ghuh-Ghuh."

"But-"

"Try to rest. I'll keep watch, see if something happens."

* * *

><p>Through the mirror, the two Hands of Blue looked at each other in surprise.<p>

"All projections as to Subject 0173's behavior in captivity have been completely wrong. I would have expected her to be at least mildly panicking; perhaps it was a mistake to leave them in the same room."

"The facility only has the one secure cell; there is nowhere else that is safe. We can separate them once we reach our own Facility." The agent's face took on a strange look. "You don't think they're mated, do you?"

"No. The personality and psych profiles do not predict it."

"They haven't predicted any of this so far. Look with your eyes."

"...I would say not. There does not appear to be any physical intimacy in what they are doing, merely practical necessity. With the room temperature at 48 degrees, they will both go into hypothermia without her actions. There may be some familial bond; not a romantic one."

"The fact that she is rational enough to think and act on this disturbs me. What if her behavioral conditioning is wearing off?"

"The safe word worked well enough."

"She was only unconscious for 2.2 hours; the safe word is programmed for at least 6 hours of unconsciousness."

"We shall have to continue the conditioning once we get back to the Facility, that is all."

The taller Blue Hand looked through the mirror, he saw Subject 0173 looking right back, almost as if she was seeing right through the mirrored glass. Then her eyes closed, and he saw her mouth work silently, forming words that he could not follow. He felt a brief chill down his back.

What about her whispering to herself should frighten him?

* * *

><p>One other person heard the conversation in the observation room; Captain William Li was more than a bit disturbed at the clinical way these two agents were referring to their captives. He seemed to come to a decision; he went to the operations room and sat down at a Cortex terminal. Might as well figure this situation out. His first stop was to the Marshal's Warrant Database; instead of the limited public view he would have received at a public cortex terminal, he was able to see the Lawforce secure warrants.<p>

"Sonuvabitch."

* * *

><p>Parliament Member for Persephone Charles Atwood sat down at his desk, his side a bit sore from the rough landing he'd taken earlier in the day. <em>Gunmen got a bit too close today.<em> He was just stretching in his leather chair, looking out the window to the Londinium skyline, when a chime announced a visitor.

"Xing jin."

A tall black man wearing a clean blue tunic and dark pants entered, moving very well, Atwood thought; sort of like a hunting cat.

"Minister Atwood. You requested to see me."

"Indeed I did, Marcus. Come, sit down. Care for a drink?"

"Perhaps a small one, Minister."

Atwood poured a fine whiskey into two crystal tumblers, and sat down beside the man in an armchair.

"Marcus, the reason I asked you here is because I wanted to thank you. I've never had an assassin come that close before; I can't tell you how much I appreciate your taking that bullet."

"It is my job, Mr. Atwood. Besides, the armour I was wearing took the bullet."

"Please, call me Charles. And no, taking the bullet wasn't your job; overseeing my security is your job, and one you've done very well for the past 3 months. I understand that you can't be everywhere at once, and do not blame you for the near success of this attempt. Nonetheless, you saved my life."

"It is a life worth saving, Charles."

"Well, anyway, I wanted to just chat with you a bit. I've had you in my employ for the past 3 months, yet I don't think I've ever asked you about yourself. Do you have family? Children?"

"I do not, Charles. I've never...had the chance." a shadow crossed the man's normally smooth demeanor.

"I'm sorry to open old wounds; I merely wanted to know more about the man who saved my life."

"If you would like, I could tell you a story. I am not sure if this will increase your estimation of me or decrease it, but if you wish, I will be truthful with you regardless."

"You may say anything to me, without fear of reprisals or censure."

"Then my story begins with a girl named River Tam, a place called the Academy, and a planet called Miranda."


	18. Chapter 18

Mal and Badger had kicked Wash out of the bridge, then sat at the co-pilot and navigator terminals, working steadily to trace the actions of the Hands.

"'m just not sure, Mal. Remember that I don' know ev'rythin' happens on Persephone, much as I'd like ta."

"I'm not asking for exacts. Just if you know somebody who can tell us if there are any Howard class corvettes docked."

"I'll talk ta th' dock supervisor."

"Badger...I appreciate the help and all, but why are you helping us?"

"'m not helpin' ya, at least not d'rectly. Helpin' Jamie and the li'l bit."

"What did you know about Jamie beforehand? Couldn't have built this kind of loyalty with the man over only 5 months of occasional work."

"A'right. I knew he was more than just a discharged Fed marshal; boyo had come my way once'r twice afore, lookin' fer ya and yer crew. 'm a decent judge of character, so I wa'nt surprised that 'e wa'nt lookin' all tha hard. A ton diff'rent than the later Operative. At least Jamie I could respect, bein' what he was."

Mal nodded silently, then turned back to his cortex terminal. "Gorramit, wish I had Jamie here. He'd sort this out in no time."

"Have ta do wit'out him this time, Mal. Ahh, here's somethin', no Howard class corvettes docked anywhere. Less'n they're docked at a private slip, ain't anywhere on Persephone. Did get a strange report from one of me new street rats, though; saw two gents in dark blue suits an' blue gloves steppin' off a small Alliance patrol ship, coupla days ago."

"That ship came from...hell, they was sweepin' the Georgia system." Mal cursed fluently in Mandarin for a few seconds, scanning over flight plan records in the Alliance database. "Musta found the ship we wrecked in the asteroids."

"Means they ain't got a ship, leastways not yet. Wouldn't try goin' via passenger ship, very least they would need is a courier ship or maybe Alliance security. They're still on Persephone, Mal." Badger said, smiling grimly.

Mal's eyes suddenly went out of focus; _We're alive, ai ren, and I'm alright. Jamie is badly hurt, needs Ghuh-ghuh. Haven't left Persephone yet; must have faith. In secure holding cell._ Mal got a sudden flashing image of a cold room, with bare white walls and floor, and two stretchers; on one huddled two bedraggled figures, trying to keep warm with a single blanket. The dimensions and layout of the room followed.

_I'm comin' fer ya, darlin'._ was all he dared to send, nervous of giving her away.

Mal came to, with Badger shaking his shoulder. "Where were ya off to, Mal?"

"River and Jamie are alive. They're in a holding cell, secure Alliance facility. Do you have any contacts in the Alliance network here?"

"I'll 'wave one right now."

* * *

><p>The crew was gathered in the galley, stuck in nervous habits; Jayne and Jenny were sitting at the table, cleaning their hardware and sharpening their knives after they had cleaned the blood from the walls and floor, and disposed of the Blue Hands. Zoe and Wash were looking over charts and ship timetables on Jamie's borrowed cortex pad, looking for something they could use. Kaylee was under a counter, fixing a piece of galley equipment, her hands nervously jittering on the tools. Inara paced incessantly, tracks from tears still staining her pretty face, despite this, she drew appraising glances from Badger's hired guns as they sat nervously in the small passenger lounge. Simon sat nervously, unable to keep his hands steady.<p>

Suddenly Mal and Badger burst out of the bridge, rushing to the galley, with a flimsy in hand. Everyone looked up, expecting to see Mal brimming over with wrath; they hadn't had luck with their own planning, and didn't expect Mal or Badger to have good news.

Instead, Zoe saw that Mal had his "mission" face on. He looked purposeful and lean, with his wrath being held in strict control beneath the surface, the traces of despair she'd seen before submerged.

"River and Jamie are alive. River is alright, Jamie is going to need you, Doc. Conjure I'll need you at 100% when we get there. Might as well grab a few hours, 'cuz it's gonna be a busy night."

Simon nodded, heading to his and Kaylee's bunk to grab a nap; he knew an order when he heard one.

"Wash, Kaylee, I need you to go over the landing procedures you and River used on New Kasmir. You know what I'm talking about." Wash nodded, his normally bright face rigid in concentration as he headed to the bridge, needing to get a few things ready up there. Kaylee followed him.

"Zoe, Jayne, get our burly friends here up to speed and get as much of our gear ready as you think we'll need for an assault on a secured Alliance facility. We'll need the infiltration suits, Jamie's cortex pad, the works." The soldier and the mercenary stood nearly as one, heading off to the bay to get everything ready.

"Jenny, I'm going to want you to stay with Kaylee in the engine room when we get there; get whatever guns you need prepped and set up down there so you can lock up behind you when trouble starts."

"Like hell, sir."

"I ain't in no mood ta argue, Jenny. Already decided."

"And I've decided I'm comin' with ya. Ain't no wiltin' flower here, Cap'n; already killed who knows how many Reavers and a pair of Blue Hands not 10 feet from here. You're my family and I'm going in with ya."

Beyond all possibility, a slight grin cracked Mal's face. "Shoulda known you'd be this stubborn, takin' up with my merc so readily. Fine, you're in with us. But you follow orders, dohn ma?"

"Yes sir." she said, getting up to follow Zoe and Jayne.

"Badger, I reckon that leaves you and Inara guarding the boat while we're gone. Best get with Zoe and Jayne, they'll be able to help ya get ready, get ya what guns ye'll be needin'."

Badger nodded, going off to retrieve his guns and go to the cargo bay. Not for the first time, he marveled at the command Mal carried and the loyalty he inspired; without a peep of complaint, except from someone who wanted in all the way instead of being protected on the outskirts, his people took their orders and ran with them, seemingly into the mouth of hell. _Not for nothing does the Alliance fear this man; imagine what he could do with an army. They made a big mistake stepping in like this, taking his woman._ These thoughts started a new train of thoughts in Badger.

* * *

><p>Jenny cleaned and reassembled the big 10 gauge shotgun she preferred out of Jayne's collection; she tried not to show her hands jittering as she worked, but a dropped part caught Jayne's attention. He saw her bend to pick up the part, and saw her hands shaking, a little more violently now.<p>

He was at her side in a second, taking her hands and holding them steadily in his. "Hey, bao bei. If you're not sure of coming in with us, ya don't gotta. It's gonna be dangerous, no matter which way it goes."

"It's not that...it's just, I killed two men an hour ago and didn't even start getting the shakes until now. What does that mean about me?"

"Ya killed two monsters, not men. Those Hands don't deserve the sympathy. Save it for our friends, that're locked up in a cell right now."

"But-"

"Listen to me." his voice lowered to a whisper. "I still get the shakes after each and every job. Why d'ya think I go to my bunk right away?"

"You?"

"Yes, even me. All of the old mercs and soldiers I know end up with the shakes, even if they've been doin' what they do fer decades. It's the ones as don't that I worry 'bout; what kinda huen dahn could kill without remorse?"

Zoe walked over from where she'd been listening nonchalantly. "I get 'em too, honey. Why not ask the Cap'n ta show ya his hands after a job someday? That is, when he's not beat all ta hell, which is the usual outcome." she grinned slightly.

Jenny smiled in response.

Jayne turned to Zoe. "And if that ever leaves this cargo bay, we'll have words."

She rolled her eyes. "Mum's the word, Shakey."

* * *

><p>When the Blue Sun agents went off to their rest a few hours later, Captain Li gathered up a few things and headed for the security cell. He opened the meal slot at the bottom and pushed the things he had put together through it.<p>

River heard the small door creak, saw the things being pushed through the door. She had noticed over the past half hour that the room temperature had gone up to minimum safe temp for humans, about 55 degrees.

She was on her feet in an instant and next to the door, looking at what had been dropped in. There were protein bars and supplements, a bottle of water, and an assortment of medical supplies; gauze, painkillers, and a few other things.

She could sense the man still standing on the other side of the door. She finally took the plunge, saying "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm sorry that this is all I could do." She _read_ the man on the other side of the door very deeply, something she rarely did anymore; she saw that he was proud of being a soldier, but not proud of the things he had to do; she felt his sympathy for her and Jamie, and frustration at not being able to do anything about the Blue Sun agents. And she saw the beginnings of a plan in Captain Li's head.

She went back to Jamie and began treating his wounds with the supplies; Jamie had been unconscious for a while now, and she was starting to worry about him. She then ate half of the food and drank some of the water, feeling strength return with it. Then she focused...

* * *

><p>Mal's eyes went vague again; Wash was the one who noticed this time, and tried to get his attention.<p>

_Can't come in guns blazing; Alliance commander here sympathetic. Try not to kill too many._

_Bao bei, understand and confirm. Think he can be trusted?_

_Yes._

"Gorramit. This just got harder."

"What? What just happened?" Wash asked, confused.

"We've gotta be careful not to kill too many people."

"Shuh ma? Didn't think I'd hear that from you."

"Not from me. From River."

"Well, we gotta focus soon; we're getting close to our insertion point. You got the outer scans down yet?"

"Almost there. One second." he reached up to the mike and pulled it down. "Zoe, need you on the bridge."

* * *

><p>30 seconds later, she had received the orders and went back down to the bay.<p>

"Change of plans, Jayne. We gotta go in non-lethal if possible."

"WHAT? Cap'n tryin' ta get us killed?"

"Apparently the commander on the inside is sympathetic to River." Zoe's voice said exactly what she thought of that. "Thankfully, we've still got those gas grenades." she sighed. "Should be 10 or 12 of them, probably enough to take them down if they group up."

"Gorramit. Alright, let me get somethin'." Jayne left, then returned with a box of shotgun shells.

"Jen, these're rubber pellet dispersal rounds; nonlethal, riot control type rounds. Load up yer shotgun with 'em and we'll put you on takedown duty inside. Make sure to go fer chest hits; face hits'll still damage 'em a bit."

"'Kay, Jayne." then something he said hit her. "My shotgun?"

He grinned. "Figure ya use her well enough, she's yers."

"Thank ya, baby!" She gave him a big kiss. Zoe just rolled her eyes.

"Think I'll call her Elsa." Jenny grinned. "Old teacher o'mine at home, liked ta shout a lot."

"You're gettin' as bad as Jayne now, namin' yer guns." Zoe snarked. _What the hell am I gonna tell the captain? Jayne just gave her a gun, s'like a ring fer him._

* * *

><p>Wash and Mal were tense as the ship shuddered with the uncontrolled reentry; plasma streams licked up the windows of the bridge as the underside got very very hot. At first, they'd stumbled over one another in setting up the drop, then Mal had settled down and began to react very similarly to River; usually, River and Wash could fly tricky courses without a single word, as River could read the pilot well enough to do the things he couldn't get to while busy flying. As they approached, Wash wondered if Mal was tapping the same abilities, taking on the same role. <em>Is he a gorram Reader?<em> Wash wondered. _Or have they just been together long enough that he's developing the same skills?_

The insertion went as before; they came down unpowered, like a meteor. The outer scan systems and inner missile defense systems powered down just as they brushed the edges of their detection envelopes.

* * *

><p>Sergeant Connor Elwin sat at the control room panel, frustrated; his outer and inner air defense systems were out! "No gorram reason for them to just crash" he muttered, as he tried to get them to reboot.<p>

Captain Li entered the room, and saw the Sergeant frustratedly typing. "Troubles?"

"The air defense nets are down. No reason I can see for it."

"Hmm. Why don't you go out to the main entrance and take up guard out there, and I'll take a look at this?"

"Yes, sir."

Captain Li smirked as the sergeant went to the front defense perimeter. Then he watched, as the outer defense cameras of the facility itself shut down right before his eyes. He grinned, then went off to gather his last 5 men (who weren't on guard duty at the checkpoints).

_Time to take care of a problem._

* * *

><p>Serenity set down hard, as before, so as to maintain the illusion of a meteor strike. The bay door opened, and 6 shadowy figures ran to the front door of the facility. This time, they weren't bothering with opening the locks by computer; small explosive devices did the job admirably though. Zoe tossed 2 of the gas grenades in the door, and heard the thumps as 5 men dropped.<p>

Jayne kicked the door in, slamming it open. Vera was in his hands, but there were no conscious targets in sight.

* * *

><p>The Blue Sun agents were standing outside the secure room's door, frustratedly trying to open it, when the main lights went out and emergency lights came on. One of the agents turned, and saw Captain Li approaching, flanked by 5 of his troops.<p>

"Captain, something appears to be wrong with the lock."

"I locked it."

"Then open the door so we can evacuate our captives."

"Ain't gonna happen. I checked; you don't have valid warrants, nor are there any warrants in the system for those two individuals, which makes your capture and assault of them illegal. You are both bound by law for the kidnapping and assault and battery of lawful Alliance citizens."

"This is absurd. I demand you unlock the door now, before we are forced to take drastic measures. We hold these captives legally, under the custody of Blue Sun."

"Bullshit. Put any weapons you have on the floor, and put your hands behind your heads."

The Blue Hands reached for their pockets, and pulled out silver cylinders; as soon as the object came into sight, and wasn't being dropped, Captain Li triggered off two shots, which dropped the Hands like bricks.

He then did something astonishing to his troops; he ordered them to put down their weapons, and set down his own weapon on the floor, pushing it away with his feet. He turned to the door and put his hands up to chest height.

The door into the main corridor exploded inward, and a brown-coated man in a black assault suit rushed in, auto-revolver drawn. The wrath on his face turned to confusion when he saw the Hands dead on the ground, and the Alliance troops unarmed before him. Behind the brown-coated man came several other people in black assault suits; one burly man with a hand-made automatic rifle, a tall black woman with a Mare's Leg, and a smaller woman with reddish hair, wielding a huge shotgun. He could see two others in the corridor outside, larger men in dark clothes, carrying automatic weapons.

Captain Li smiled. "Welcome to the 003 Security facility, Captain Reynolds."

* * *

><p>Mal and his team ran along the corridor towards the secure section of the facility, then he heard two pistol shots. His blood froze, and they took off towards the door that led into the secure section; Jayne set 3 demolition charges that Kaylee had put together, and they all stepped back.<p>

The explosives boomed, nearly 3 times what is required to blow a door. The door slammed inward, hitting the opposite wall. Mal rushed in, to find an unarmed Alliance officer standing with 5 troops, while 2 Blue Hands bled from head wounds onto the ground.

"Welcome to the 003 Security facility, Captain Reynolds."

"What in the gorram guai is going on here?"

"Why, Captain, I thought it would be obvious. Myself and my 20 troops were knocked out by some form of non-lethal knockout gas, while an unknown band of assailants infiltrated my base and killed the Blue Sun agents, extracting 2 legal Alliance civilians."

"I-shuh ma?"

The Alliance infantry captain smiled. "Captain William Li." he said, holding out a hand to shake. Reluctantly, Mal took it, saying "Captain Mal Reynolds. Alliance Infantry?"

"Spec Ops, even." Li said, with a slight grin. "Oh, you'll be needing this to open the cell." he said, pulling out a keycard. Mal snatched it away, and opened the cell door; River vaulted out of the room into his arms. "Bao bei!" she cheerily yelled. He gently let her down to the ground, and put his jacket over her shoulders.

"Ai ren, where's Jami- gorramit. Jayne!" he yelled over his shoulder. Jayne and one of Badger's mercenaries came in, carefully picking Jamie up and carrying him out into the other room. "We need a stretcher, Mal!"

"I believe there's one in the closet over there, Captain."

Jayne and Friert grabbed the stretcher, and assembled it beneath Jamie, then started carrying him out. Jenny walked alongside, covering them as they moved. Zoe waited at the door for Mal and River.

"Why, Captain?"

"Captain Reynolds, I must say it's a pleasure to meet you. I know that you have an understandable aversion to the Alliance, but I think you should know that your defense of Serenity Valley on Hera is required reading at the Military Academy on Ariel. Your example of courage under fire and supreme leadership in the face of overwhelming odds is a textbook definition of how it's done.

"As to why, it's because what those Blue Sun huen dahns were doing was wrong. Miss Tam and Mr. Monroe have no outstanding warrants, and the action taken against them was illegal.

"Besides, I didn't have anything to do with the deaths of the agents. Clearly you must have taken my gun and shot them." he grinned, as he slowly picked up his automatic pistol and handed it to Reynolds.

"Oh, and I suggest the unknown assailants also drop a few grenades in the computer core. It's two doors down, in the control room." Li grinned again, as Mal's face had changed expressions at least three times during his little speech.

"The unknown assailants will be sure to do that, Captain." Mal's face finally found a smile.

"I hope we meet again under better circumstances, Captain Reynolds." They shook hands again. "If you need help, I think Mr. Monroe will know how to get in touch with me. Handle is Tarmigan."

Mal nodded, then began walking out.

River went up on her tip-toes and kissed Li on the cheek. "Thank you again." she said, following Mal out.

"And gentlemen, none of what happened in this room occurred. We were knocked out by the gas, and woke up later, with the Blue Sun agents dead and our assailants gone. Dohn ma?"

Mal tossed a gas grenade over his shoulder, and the 6 men dropped after a few seconds.


	19. Chapter 19

"It's all too...horrific to contemplate." Minister Atwood whispered, as Marcus finished his tale.

"Unfortunately, it is all too true. And I had no small part in the proceedings, a source of considerable shame."

"It occurs to me that exposure of this kind could be a problem for you."

"I am not so worried for me. It is you I am worried about. You need to keep this private; you must promise not to use this bargaining chip until it is most effective."

"I suppose I can agree to that." Atwood sighed. "Buddha knows it's like a ticking time bomb."

"In this case, it is a time bomb that needs to go off. The 'Verse will never change for the better until the dirty secrets are wiped clean by the light of public scrutiny."

* * *

><p>The bay door of Serenity closed behind him as Mal shouted into a comm panel, "Wash, take us outta the world. Set us a course into the Black and get us a good 6 hours out of Persephone afore we think about a course change."<p>

He felt Serenity's engine pods spool up, and Serenity lifted off fast and hard, with none of its normal smoothness from a casual takeoff. Soon enough, they were in the Black though, and he felt the surge of motion as she lit off a full burn.

Or he would have felt it, if he hadn't been standing in the cargo bay, wrapped up in River, giving everyone in the cargo bay at least a PG-13 show. Finally, River came to awareness and squeaked, pulling his brown coat tighter around herself to cover up. She looked around and saw Zoe, Jayne, Jenny, Badger, Jensen and Friert smiling or laughing at her and Mal, and saw Kaylee standing at the entrance to the engine room, leaning on the doorframe, a wide grin on her face.

"Thank you all...I don't know what I can do to repay it." she whispered. Badger just laughed, and walked away with Jensen and Friert, shaking his head as the others came to mob her with hugs.

"Where's Inara?" she finally asked, then knew the answer.

"She's where you're about to go, ai ren. Simon's gotta check you out, make sure you're okay."

"Simon needs to worry about Jamie. He took a real beating from the Hands." she said, a tear streaming down her cheek.

"I know, bao bei. Gotta make sure you're all okay though. Captain's orders."

She nodded silently, and went towards the infirmary, Mal in tow.

* * *

><p>Inara was sitting in the common room, looking vacant, as she usually did when Jamie was being tended to and after she had finished crying. River went to her and wrapped her in a big hug, Inara finally finding some emotion. "He'll be okay, bao bei. He kept me steady in there because I had to be, and now we can keep him steady here."<p>

"I know he'll be okay, he's the second-most stubborn man I ever met." Inara whispered, with a twinkle in her eye. River laughed, glancing at Mal.

"How are you feeling, sweetie? Did they do anything to you?"

"Just put me to sleep. Although I think the conditioning is wearing off. I was only unconscious for just over two hours, when the safe word should put me out for at least 6. Maybe I can make it so that it doesn't work again."

"Are you really okay? You knew it was the Hands..."

"I said it on Meadow, repeated exposure is lessening their impact. Two more died. Maybe there won't be any more some day."

Mal knelt next to the women, and said "Jenny got two on Serenity too. Bushwhacked 'em in the galley, gave it to 'em quick and clean. Cleaner than they deserved."

"Jenny? Is she alright?"

"Handled it better than I would conjure. Reckon we got the makin's of a second gun-hand here."

* * *

><p>The three of them sat for 2 hours, until Simon came out of the infirmary. "He's awake, albeit a bit groggy. I don't want you to jostle him around or get him overexcited right now, he's got cracked ribs and had some internal bleeding. In general, if he were anywhere but here, I'd say he needs at least 48 hours observation. However, as nobody listens to me around here..." he snarked, with a slight smile on his face.<p>

Inara laughed, with a touch of a sob on the end of it. "I won't do anything to strain him, Simon. Thank you for another fine job." She hugged him tightly, then went into the infirmary and closed the door behind her, going to sit next to Jamie. He turned to face her, and despite his pain, the others could see the smile on his face.

"Well, Doc. Seems you're full o'miracles."

"So long as nobody else was hurt, that means it was a light day for me." he smiled. "Mei mei, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Simon. All they did was use the safe word, didn't drug me or anything."

"Still, I'd like to take a look at you."

"Simon, I'll be _fine._ Worry about Jamie."

"Seems Inara has the market cornered on that right now." Simon was relieved; if his sister could be pissy about it, she was fine. She knew better than to refuse treatment for something that he could handle. "Still, come and find me if anything comes up, dohn ma?"

She rolled her eyes, in the way that only River could manage.

"Come on, bao bei. Gotta get some clothes on you so's I can reclaim my coat."

"Not so sure 'bout that, ai ren. Coat's mighty comfy." she teased.

They went off to the crew quarters, bickering lightly as evidenced their usual flirting. Simon just shook his head, then sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall.

He felt a presence enter the room, almost like walking into sunshine, and felt someone cuddle up next to him on the couch.

"How's he gonna be, Simon?"

"He'll be fine, ai ren. He's nearly as fast a healer as the captain."

"Sure seems to get beat on as often."

"They seem to share a talent for trouble."

* * *

><p>"We've really gotta stop meeting each other like this." Jamie whispered, a grin on his lips.<p>

"It's getting a touch tiring, ai ren. How about you work on not getting shot or beat up so often?"

"Sounds like a plan." he whispered, then closed his eyes, the sedative in his IV taking over. Suddenly he popped his eyes open; "Bao bei, did you find it?"

"Mal found it where you were attacked." she said, holding up the leather cord. He smiled, relieved. "Oh, good. Afraid it was lost."

"You don't need to fear for that, ai ren. I've got lots more cord where that came from. Some other fun things too." she said, a twinkle in her eye.

"Well, howsabout we wait until I'm feeling less painful afore we try that out?" he winked, then closed his eyes again, just exhausted. She laid her head next to his on the examination bed, and slipped off to sleep herself, their hands intertwined on the bed.

* * *

><p>River slipped down the ladder with her ordinary grace, and Mal with his less than usual grace. She turned to her closet to find a dress to put on, when she heard a thought floating on the air, <em>waited long enough to do this.<em> She turned, and saw Mal on one knee, reaching into a pocket. He pulled out a tiny box of simple wood, and looked up at her. "River," he started, his voice breaking a bit, "when I found you had been taken, I realized how empty my life would be if you weren't in it. Didn't like the 'Verse I found. I realized I might have waited too long to ask you this."

He opened the box, and River saw the ring; not made of gold and studded like diamonds, this ring was different. It looked darker, like it had been made of steel; she realized it was the same type of steel as Serenity's hull. Mixed in a little rose-shape on top of it were different metals, all from various parts of Serenity. She gasped, realizing how thoughtful this truly was; a gift of gold and diamonds would have been expensive, but without soul. This ring was all of soul, full of the things that she loved, the ship she loved, the man she loved.

"River, will you marry me?"

"Of course!" she shrieked, and practically tackled him, squeezing him so tightly he couldn't breathe for a moment. He finally pulled away and kissed her, putting the ring on her finger. She nearly hauled him to his feet, and pushed him to the bed; he was panicked for a brief moment, until he saw the fire in her eyes, so different from the flatness of one of her episodes. He grinned, then she climbed on top of him and removed the coat, tossing it aside.

"God, I love you." he whispered.

"All mine now." she whispered back.

* * *

><p>Badger and the rest of the crew, those as weren't occupied in their bunks or hiding away from the others in the common room and infirmary, heard the shriek and then a series of noises that defeated the substantial soundproofing had been built into the bunks.<p>

"Guess he asked her." Jayne muttered. Jenny looked at him funny, then comprehension dawned.

"He popped the question, huh?"

"Yep, musta gave her the ring I made fer him."

"You made it?"

"Yep, outta bits of Serenity. Welded it all together, smoothed it with a clear coat."

"That's real shiny, bao bei." she giggled, then leaned against him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Wash came down from the bridge, looking like he was escaping from the noise as he closed the door behind him.

"Wu de tien ah!" he exclaimed. "They fighting or sexing in there?"

"Those two, do you think there's much difference?" Zoe murmured, a grin on her face.

"So Badger, you talk with Cap'n about where you wanna get off?"

"'aven't 'ad the chance yet. 'e was a bit wrapped up with 'is girl, then they got a bit...distracted."

"Well, we're well and truly out into the Black right now, probably not like to visit Persephone real soon; just in case some cry went out for Serenity."

"I figured's much. We'll decide on it oncet they're done keepin' the whole boat awake. Think ya can scare up some bunks fer me and me boys?"

"Sure we can, Badger. Gimme a bit and I'll see to it." Zoe said.

"Well, don't look as to be any time soon that they'll be done anyways. Cards, dinner, somethin'?"

"Think you can scrounge up a late dinner, Jenny?" Zoe asked.

"Surely think I can. Anybody have a preference?"

"Bao?" Wash grinned.

"Think I can make some up." she grinned back; even in her short time on Serenity, she was aware of Wash's fondness for fresh bao.

* * *

><p>The food brought Simon and Kaylee up into the galley, and they joined in the festivities; everyone was in a celebratory mood after the darkness of the day. Finally, 2 hours later, Mal and River came up for air, in completely different clothes than before. They got the expected ribbing about the noise, then Simon saw what was on River's hand. The hand of cards he was holding fell to the floor, and his face went white. "River..."<p>

"Don't be a boob. Be happy for me, ghuh ghuh."

Simon fainted. River rolled her eyes, then went down to the infirmary with a plate of food for Inara, and to retrieve some smelling salts. And, of course, to gush about the ring.

"Well, if everybody wasn't aware, I just asked River a mighty big question. And she said yes. With considerable force." he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Jayne, many thanks fer makin' the ring fer her. Couldn'a done it without ya." Jayne grinned back, probably more at the look Jenny gave him than anything else.

"Wasn't no problem at all, Mal."

Kaylee squealed at the ring when River got back; she too could recognize pieces of Serenity. "It's real shiny, cap'n." Then she set about waking her husband up. _'Least he didn't hit his head this time, like when they first got together._ River giggled at that.

* * *

><p>The celebration lasted another hour, then everyone began to feel the fatigue of the day.<p>

"Where do ya think we should head? Reckon headin' back to Persephone might be a bit dangerous at the moment; Badger, any place in particulars you want off?"

"Anywheres we can get passage back to Persephone'd be lovely, Mal."

"'Case you ain't noticed, we're a bit out in the Black, less'n we can find a friendly ship nearby that'll take ya back. Skyplex might be a good place fer now."

"Sounds lovely, Mal. After takin' a rest, a'course."

"Wash, Zoe, you feel up to takin' bridge watch? Got captainy things to do."

"Go to bed, sir. And have good sex!" Wash yelled down the passage, snickering at the obscene gesture Mal gave him as he left.

* * *

><p>"Captain, can you hear me?" the soldier said, feeling for a pulse and checking his pupils. Captain Li's eyes opened, and he sat up, still feeling a bit groggy. The soldier was an Alliance corpsman, must have been sent in when their facility went off the grid. "Feeling fine, Corporal. Just a bit woozy. Must have hit us with sleeping gas of some kind."<p>

"That's what we believe, sir. All of the doors are blown, and the attackers must have shot and killed the Blue Sun agents here." he indicated, pointing to where the other soldiers prepared to move the dead agents.

"The computer core got blown too. We're not going to be able to get any information off of it, the techs tell me."

"Damn. Keep on it, Corporal."

"Yes, sir. Seems strange that the facility got hit so quietly, sir, yet with so little loss of life. Sounds a lot like the New Kasmir attack about 2 months back; place just gets taken out, when our troops got there later, all of the men there had bled out, most without a mark on 'em. Pretty horrific. Thankfully with whatever happened here, the other men are fine. Not one casualty."

"Good. I expect we'll be getting an investigation team?"

"One is enroute. We're trying to disturb as little as possible."

Li felt for his gun, saying "Damn, must have taken my gun. 10 credits says it was used to kill the agents, to prevent a ballistic trace."

"I wouldn't wager against you, sir. This entire operation is just a bit too clean for my tastes; whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. No sign of a ship coming down, none at all. Just a moderately sized meteor that came down somewhat near here, according to space watch. Probably burned up in atmo."

"I imagine it did. Anyways, keep on it." Li murmured. As soon as the corporal had gone, he grinned briefly, and his other troops grinned covertly back at him.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling, little bro?" the face on the 'Wave said, full of concern.<p>

"I'm okay, ghuh ghuh. Just a bit woozy from the gas they used, side effect the medics tell me. It'll be gone in a few more hours."

"So you have any idea what happened to you?"

"Wish I did, big bro." Li's eyes sparkled with his secret. Lt. Commander Jeff Li saw it and laughed; he knew when his little brother wasn't telling the whole truth. No point in giving away the secret though, until they could tell it in person.

"When do you have some leave, Will?"

"I've got some coming up, you want to meet up somewhere?"

"Think I do." he winked at him. _You've gotta hear this one._


	20. Chapter 20

Mal awoke slowly, feeling the safety and comfort of River surrounding him as they sprawled on the bed, tangled in sheets and pillows. Her hair was a wild mess, sprawled all about, but her face seemed to be locked in a grin, even asleep.

"Not asleep, ai ren. Just waiting for you." she whispered.

"Love you, bao bei." he whispered back, kissing her gently; the kiss deepened, and she began moving beneath his hands again.

"Wuo de ma!" she whispered, breaking away from him to catch a breath. "I've got to make breakfast."

"Somebody else will do it when they're hungry enough." he said, then pulled her back into the kiss. She melted into it, losing all control again.

* * *

><p>Everyone (except Jamie and Inara) gathered around the table for breakfast, somewhat later than usual thanks to yesterday's craziness and River and Mal's laziness about getting up.<p>

The mood around the table was far cheerier than the previous day's darkness; even Badger and his boys were getting into the spirit, interacting with the crew. River thought she detected a hint of regret in Jensen and Friert; almost as if they wanted to stay on board instead of going back to Eavesdown's underbelly to be the guard dogs for a petty crook. _Seems you just can't turn off the charm, bao bei_ she sent.

_Shuh ma?_

_Think Jensen and Friert are gonna be sad to get off Serenity. Sad to be going back to Persephone, where they're guard dogs for a criminal. Even Badger is starting to feel comfortable here._

_Ha! I'll believe it when I see it._

* * *

><p>They were 2 days out of Valmette Skyplex, where Badger and his people were set to get off and find a transport back to Persephone. Jamie was feeling better for the sleep, but his ribs and general soreness prevented him from getting up and about. Inara had brought him the cortex tablet though, and he was happily tapping away, back in his element, while Inara ate her own breakfast after helping him eat. She gave him the happy look of an indulgent mother with a spoiled schoolboy as he got lost in his cortex feeds.<p>

Jamie was actually working; he was attempting to see if there was any outcry from the breakin at the security outpost. The normal news feeds, and even the civilian authority feeds had no information; it was in the military and security feed that he got his first sniffs. There were records of a medical rescue team being dispatched to an undisclosed location several hundred miles from Eavesdown and Bath; digging deeper, he found that a forensics team had been dispatched as well, but no findings were forthcoming.

Melding into the security feed direct, and into the background signals of the high security systems that were often overlooked by lesser men, he started putting together a picture; interviews with the security team on the 003 Security facility site had provided no leads yet, only that an unidentified assailant team had knocked out the defensive systems through some undisclosed means and put the entire facility's guards to sleep, killing two unidentified men with accurate gunfire in the process. The ballistics evidence was inconclusive as to the source of the gunfire. All computer data had been lost, and no ships were evidenced arriving or leaving the area.

He sighed, grateful that their mission to save him hadn't exposed the rest of them to trouble. He checked the Federal Marshal warrant database, and still found it empty of any mention of the crew of Serenity. He sighed again, and closed his eyes, saying a small prayer. Inara saw, and said "Everything alright?"

"I will be. No traces were left behind. Thank god."

"Nothing at all on the cortex?" she whispered, a little surprised herself.

"Not a bit. Just vague and disconnected reports. Huh..." he muttered as a note popped up on the interface of the tablet; "Who the hell is Tarmigan? Did Mal leave this?"

"He mentioned something about the Captain at the facility giving him a handle to contact him by; that must be it."

"Hmm." he frowned. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

Inara stepped to the head of the table, and began rubbing his shoulders softly; it was guaranteed to help him think, she had learned.

"Mmm. Feels like it's been a while since you did that. Can't have been that long ago though."

"Just trying to help you think, bao bei." she whispered, kissing him on the forehead.

She stayed there for about an hour more, trying to help him remember, then checked her timepiece. "Damn, I've gotta go make lunch, and I need a shower and change of clothes first."

"Wish I could join you." he grinned.

"Another day, bao bei. Just one more day."

He grumbled about the inequity of it, then smiled at her again, and got back to work.

* * *

><p>The Li brothers met at a small tavern in Persephone city itself, near to Eavesdown but still nice enough to not need to worry about food poisoning.<p>

They bearhugged, glad to see each other. Jeff Li hadn't said it, but hearing about his little brother's near-miss in the attack had unnerved him a bit. They were the only two members of their little family left; parents dead, neither of them with wife or children, no aunts or uncles, they were the only family either of them had in the 'verse.

"So, little brother. What the hell happened to you?"

"Officially, I took a little unscheduled nap when some unidentified bad guys hit our facility and killed two other unidentified suited men in the room I was found in."

"Unofficially?"

"I killed two Blue Sun agents in the process of arresting them, and directly after met Malcolm Reynolds."

"...Malcolm Reynolds? _The_ Malcolm Reynolds, of Serenity Valley fame?"

"The same."

"How the hell does he fit into this?"

"The Blue Sun agents had kidnapped members of his crew. Remember the news bulletins about 2 years ago about the girl named River Tam, with the impossibly high bounties attached?"

"Sure, got sent all over the damn 'verse cuz of it. Even got sent into the Burnham quadrant, thankfully missed the big battle against the Reavers. Some of the stuff I saw then still gives me chills."

"Well, they'd snatched River Tam and a man named Jamison Monroe. Name sounded familiar to me, and I realized who it was; he was an acquaintance in my hacking days, when I was younger."

"Never thought you'd get out of that stuff without a warrant for your arrest." Jeff smiled.

"Ha! Never once got caught."

"So why did they snatch these people?"

"Wish I knew. Something nasty, I'm guessing; these agents were talking like the two of them were lab rats. They'd managed to capture the girl without a mark, but they laid out a good beating on the man. Damn'near killed him."

"So what happened?"

"I checked their warrants on the database, they were _clean._ Too clean, actually. That's another story altogether. As soon as our air defense systems started going down, I locked down the cell the two of them were in and went after the agents with a team of men. Confronted them, bound them by law, then when one of them pulled out some gadget and almost turned it on, I blew 'em away. Felt a bit better than anything I'd ever done for the Parliament in secret military actions; something felt righteous about it."

"Damn, little brother. I think I had the same two guys on my boat not long ago; they talk all scientifically, almost like it was one guy sharing two bodies?"

"Yep. Creepy as hell. I've heard stories about those assholes though; they deserved what they got."

"So Reynolds showed up then?"

"Right after the gunshots went off, the whole damn door to the room blew in, and he flew in like he was gonna shoot me. I'd already disarmed, and had my men drop their weapons; kinda defused him. He had a kind of rag-tag group with him, all manner of different.

"Couldn't think of what else to do, so I introduced myself."

"Ha! Id've loved to see his face."

"Wish I could have taken a capture. Hell, the man's a hero. Wish he didn't have to skulk about anymore."

"Funny thing is, if what you said is true, he probably doesn't have to anymore."

"Yea, no warrants at all for him. Knowing his past, that's definitely got fingerprints all over it; probably a hacker of some kind."

"Well, sounds like he got what he wanted, anyways."

"Yea, the girl that had been taken jumped on him like they were married; must have been near-about, anyways."

"So, anyways...what are you gonna do about it, little bro?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all I need to do. Wasn't any trace to identify him or his people, and all I'd have would be hearsay that would hurt my men. It'll stay hidden. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard from them again; gave him my old cortex handle."

"What will you do if you hear from them?"

"Hopefully it's better circumstances, when I can take a little time to get to know the man." Will Li said, a bit of a grin on his face.

"Sounds like you had some adventure, anyways, bro. Try to get some safe garrison duty for a while, huh?"

* * *

><p>The captain was quiet during dinner, Zoe noticed. Since he had taken up with River, he'd been more boisterous and apt to chatter with the crew; he spent a lot of time staring at his plate tonight. She noticed that Jamie, too, was more reserved than usual, sitting uncomfortably in his chair.<p>

_River, what's going on with the Captain?_ Zoe pushed at River; she had a mind that was naturally focused enough that she could generally make herself understood.

_He's blocking me out somewhat; needed to think without interruption. Guess is, he's making a decision._

They finally found out what was on his mind when dinner was over, and just being cleared up; Mal stood, getting everyone's attention silently.

"The past day and the troubles we've been having since we met Jamie are pressin' on my mind; reckoned I'd let y'all know what it is I'm thinkin', then we can decide how to handle it together. Ain't fair to do other than that.

"I'm tired of running, tired of hiding. The gorram Academy is getting just a bit too big fer its britches. I intend to shut that place down, tear it out brick by brick if'n I have to. Ain't lettin' River go back there, nor lettin' Jamie get taken there."

The table was silent for a moment; then River's voice broke the silence.

"Ai ren, I'm as much for ending that da tuo da bien as anyone on the boat; but we need to approach it cautiously, or we'll be the ones as are ended. Besides, the Hands aren't just linked with the Academy; they're linked with Blue Sun. Need to take down the one to take down the other."

Jayne spoke then, sounding more educated than anybody at the table had heard from him. "She's right, Mal. One of the first lessons I learned as a Merc was that if you go to fight with an enemy by attacking his body, you'd be laid out cold on the dirt. The only way to beat an enemy is to attack the head and the heart."

Zoe weighed in. "Sir, they're right. Trying to go after the Academy guns blazing would just get us all killed. We'd need allies, resources, and support that we just don't have right now. First thing we gotta do is see if we can get that support, before we ever start thinkin' on takin' the place down."

"Glad I brought it to y'all then; reckoned it'd be the only way to make sure the plan went right." he smiled slightly, finally.

"Tross, get together with Zoe and Jamie to see what we would need in the way of support to take down the place. Start doin' the research. Find the holes.

"Wash, start wavin' every friend we got as can keep a secret and can be trusted; Monty, Jim Raven on _Lady's Revenge_, anyone else we trust. Don't go tellin' 'em nothin' yet, just get 'em to agree to a meet somewheres private." Wash nodded, heading off to the bridge.

"Doc, Kaylee, yer our wild cards on this run. If'n ya got ideas for something we can do, somethin' I need ta know about, let me know. Kaylee, start puttin' together some kits fer takin' out locks and doors.

"Jayne and Jenny, inventory our arms and ammo. Try to see what we might be needin'.

"Badger, ya think ya want in on this? No harm if'n ya don't, just keep it under yer hat if not."

"Not fer you, nor fer yer cause or yer money...but I'll do it fer River and Jamie. Should be able to provide muscle, at the very least. Maybe some other crews who'll join in on this merry march ta hell."

Mal nodded, grateful that the little man was feeling helpful.

"Inara, I figure you got contacts as could prove useful. Don't tell 'em nothin' yet, just think on who ya know as might be willin' ta help us.

"Mal?" Wash's voice came over the comm. "You'd better get up here."

"What now..." Mal muttered.

* * *

><p>Mal walked onto the bridge, and saw Wash sitting back from the pilot's console, eyes somewhat wider than normal. "What the hell's going-"<p>

"Hello, Mal." the very familiar face on the 'Wave said, as Mal came into the camera range.

"You sonuvabitch. What gives you the right to show your face here again?"

"I believe you said that you were going to shoot me if you saw me. I thought it would be a good idea to not be within range of your pistol the first time you did."

"Conjure you made the smart choice."

"But not the right one. I injured you all grievously. I wish to make amends."

"Ya can make amends by bringing Shepherd Book back to us."

"That, I am afraid, is out of my power. I can, however, help you to fulfill your quest."

"What quest might that be?" Mal said, suddenly suspicious.

"I can provide support for your attack on the Academy for Gifted Children on Osiris, and on the Blue Sun Corporation."

"What says we're doing anything about that?

"Honestly, Mal. I know you better than that, and I can read between the lines. With the aborted kidnapping of your betrothed and your crew member by the Hands of Blue, combined with the recent discoveries of at least 3 dead teams of Hands, I can safely say that you have a bone to pick with them. The Academy is after your people with a powerful will; I can think of no other thing that would cause you to attack them."

"You know a little too much for yer own good."

"As I said, I can read between the lines. The disparate events in question would certainly not be understood by anyone other than us, those who have seen what we have."

"What's your game here?"

"There is somebody I think you will want to meet. I wish to see you in person, as well; if only so you will have another chance to shoot me." a small grin grew on the Operative's face.

"...Fine. I'll give you the location and the time in another 'Wave." Mal's face remained hard.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Marcus, are you sure about this?" Charles Atwood said, worried at the repeated threats to shoot his Chief of Security.<p>

"I am, Charles. Even if only so the man can shoot me and get it out of his system."

"Well, I'm with you on this. The place needs to go down, and I think this man may be the one to do it."

"Good. I shall begin prepping my contacts then."

* * *

><p>"General, here's the report you requested on the breakin on Persephone."<p>

"Thank you, Jenkins."

The tall Chinese man sat back in his leather chair, scanning the data on his data pad. "Yi Dwei Da Buen Chuo Roh!" Somehow, the facility had been broken into without a trace, and the captives there had disappeared, while the agents that had captured them had been killed. Ballistics indicated that it was the base commander's own weapon that had killed the men; no fingerprints or DNA had come to light though.

"We get another chance at River Tam and a Potential with the possible strength to rival her, and they somehow manage to come in without a trace and steal them out from under us!" he shouted, mostly at himself but somewhat at the Blue Sun troubleshooters sitting in his office.

"Please be calm, sir. Team 2 would not have been so easily taken by surprise were it not for some extraordinary means. Recent attempts to take River Tam have all failed, indicating that there is some extraordinary presence or factor at work. Subject Tam herself is considered a Class X psychic; she is difficult to trick or fool by any means. She was a natural genius and skilled Reader even before her induction into the Academy; our efforts only intensified those skills, but also made her unstable. If she has regained stability and retained the natural power of her innate skills, she is extraordinarily dangerous."

"Seems you gentlemen shot yourselves in the foot, making a weapon like that and not keeping a leash on it."

"I would not be too smug, General Chan; our information indicates that Malcolm Reynolds is at least peripherally involved in this matter. Your own efforts to break the wills of the Browncoats appears to have strengthened the steel in the backbone of Reynolds; instead of running and hiding, he and his crew decided to broadcast the Miranda 'Wave, making our job considerably more difficult, even without the interference of your renegade Operative."

"Don't remind me. Bastard did a lot more damage than just letting the Miranda 'Wave get out; he burned a lot of our credibility with the 'Verse."

"You have had no luck tracking the man down?"

"How do you track a ghost? How do you find a rumor?"

"We have methods."

"Then _use them._ The man could draw down a 'Verse of hurt on us."


	21. Chapter 21

'Marcus' answered the incoming unlisted and encrypted 'Wave; after 4 days of waiting, he'd gotten slightly nervous, although Charles had never noticed, so total was his facial control.

Despite his confidence of his own control, Marcus couldn't help but feel that Malcolm Reynolds saw right through that mask and saw the underlying fear in him.

"Evening." Mal said.

"Mal. I assume you've got a location and time for us?"

"Sophie, off Zeus in the Kalidasa system. Two days. Come alone except for your guest. If you have any thought for surprises, don't try 'em."

"I understand. We'll be there."

"See ya in the world."

Charles was sitting off to the side, at his desk. "Two days? Can we reach Sophie in two days?"

"I believe we shall. I have access to an extremely fast ship."

"Very well. Let's go. Should I be armed?"

"It would probably be endearing to the man if you were. I, however, shall not go armed."

"Okay. How soon can we leave?"

"Two hours. I'll go retrieve my ship."

* * *

><p>"General. We have made contact with our agent. He does not have a location for Malcolm Reynolds yet, but we may be able to capture a whole organization of former Browncoats, once the information becomes available."<p>

"Excellent. As soon as we have a location and time, take in whatever you need and get them. I have access to ships and commanders that are personally loyal to me."

"We shall leave as soon as the new information comes in."

* * *

><p>Four days had gone by like a flash for those aboard Serenity; Jamie, Zoe, River, and often Mal were eyeball deep in their planning, gathering their information and pushing the pieces around like generals playing at soldiers, although everybody on the boat had put in their own input on the plans. Three times already, they'd had to scrap a plan because it was too uncertain according to River's extremely analytical mind; the fourth plan was coming together better. They still didn't have a layout of the Academy, but they didn't expect to get one until the very last minute. They'd managed to gain access codes to Osiris' defense net; how that bit of information came into their hands, Mal didn't know (or didn't want to.)<p>

Kaylee'd been busy after their stop on Valmette skyplex; she'd picked up some essentials for the ship (including auxiliary atmo processors and water filtration systems), the 8 additional men that Badger had acquired for their operation having almost doubled Serenity's current complement. The others were kept busy as well; helping Kaylee, offering information for the planning, maintaining the morale of all aboard, 'Waving contacts, and ensuring that weapons, equipment, and everything else was ready. Jenny was kept extremely busy, cooking for everybody; Mal became convinced she was a miracle worker in the kitchen, somehow managing to keep 19 people fed and happy. It took its toll on her, and for the first time he was glad she'd taken up with Jayne; without his gentle ministrations, she'd probably have snapped after the second day.

They'd lazed their way to the rendezvous point on Sophie; no need to burn their way there, as they had plenty of time. Serenity'd settled into a nervous sort of schedule by then; they set up in a place that was difficult to detect, and were using the jamming systems to their fullest extent.

Serenity picked up the sleek, fast ship a long way out; a long range scan detected only rudimentary defensive systems, and very little in the way of armament. It was clearly a courier ship of some kind, and had come from a course that started on Persephone.

* * *

><p>Marcus conned the ship in very efficiently, taking the most predictable glide path down the planet's surface. The meeting coordinates lay in a lightly wooded patch of the moon, with no nearby residents and enough room to land a whole squadron of ships. Marcus parked the ship on one sector of the broad circle, and waited.<p>

He'd detected the jammer-induced white noise on the way in, of course, and hadn't commented on it. His companion had been clueless, of course; while not stupid at all, the man clearly wasn't knowledgeable about space travel or covert operations. The white noise was simply meant to prevent him from detecting Serenity, or from transmitting a position.

They stepped out of the hatch of the courier ship, and walked into the middle of the circle. A pile of cut wood lay there already, looking for all the world like it only awaited a spark to become a bonfire.

"They aren't here, yet, are they?" Atwood asked, confused about the empty meeting place.

"They're here." Marcus said, a slight smile on his lips.

The thunder of an incoming ship entered earshot very quickly; the roar built until a Firefly class transport ship hovered overhead, coming down to rest very neatly beside the courier ship. The main ramp opened, and a man wearing a brown longcoat strode out purposefully.

He drew his autorevolver, and fired a shot directly into Marcus' chest; the man fell to the ground heavily.

"Told you I'd shoot you if I saw you again." Mal said, as he slid the weapon into its holster.

Atwood was about to draw his own small automatic pistol, when he heard a cough from his companion. He knelt down beside him, then saw that there was no blood on the man.

"Tell, me, Mal. How did you know I was wearing body armour?"

"You were wearing body armor?" Mal said, a devilish grin on his face.

The Operative merely smiled; then stood and walked over towards Mal. He extended a hand, and hesitantly, Mal shook it.

"Who's your friend here?" Mal eyed the other man closely.

"My name is Charles Atwood; I am a Member of Parliament and representative of Persephone."

"Well, how about that. Conjure you're wondering why I just shot this man."

"Not at all, Captain. I just didn't think you'd actually follow through with it," as a grin colored his formerly dour face.

_Riv, what do you think?_

_He's unsure of this; willing to listen._

"Obviously you don't know me very well then, yet." Mal murmured. "Let's get started then. We're just waiting for a few more guests."

Overhead, they heard the roar of an approaching ship, then another, then a much larger sound began building. In the next 2 minutes, 3 ships settled down into the clearing, surrounding the pile of wood. Marcus saw that Mal had orchestrated this very closely; once again, he was struck by the realization that this man was a force of nature, not to be trifled with.

The big Skylark class ship, dwarfing the other 3 that had landed, lowered its ramp and allowed a gargantuan bearded sasquatch of a man to stroll down, wearing his own long brown coat. Beside him strode a young woman, wearing a very nice dress that seemed to show off quite a lot of cleavage.

"Monty." Mal said, holding out his hand; Monty drew the shorter man into a bearhug, and Marcus and Charles could hear his ribs creaking. "Malcolm Reynolds! Always good ta see ya again."

"And Petaline." Mal said, a slight frown coloring his features. "Conjure I didn't exactly invite ya to this palaver."

"If you thought you were gonna keep me and mine out of this, Mal, ye've got another think comin'." she said pridefully and wrathfully.

"We'll talk about it later." he said, holding his hands up placatingly. Mal knew if he let the ladies on his boat get wind of this, they'd never let it go. Marcus took inordinate pride in watching this prideful young woman get the best of Mal.

From the ramps on the other two boats, a Firefly and a Junebug, came a pair of very different-looking men wearing nearly identical brown coats.

"Jim Raven of the _Lady's Revenge_, this's Marcus, and Charles Atwood. Ya already know Monty. And this here's the lovely Madame Petaline."

"Mal, always a pleasure. And it's most definitely a pleasure to meet you, Miss Petaline." he said, kissing her hand. _He's always been a bit of a showoff._ Mal thought.

_Pot calling the kettle black_ came the amused response.

From the other Firefly landed on the clearing (with _Calamity Jane_ painted on its neck) came a shorter Chinese-appearing man, also wearing his browncoat. His face was heavily scarred with what looked like old acid burns. "Captain Shu. Nice to finally meet you." Mal said, greeting him warmly; he wasn't as familiar with Chin Shu, and only had Monty's word that the man was trustworthy.

"Mal, nice to meet you too. Great to meet a member of the Serenity Valley club. Monty's told me a lot about you."

Mal nodded once. _You get that, 'Tross?_

_Yes. Trustworthy. Touch of hero worship of you, bao bei._

_Well, we'll see if we can't cure him of that._

He heard a tinkling of laughter in the back of his mind.

_Start on their crews; let me know soon's you know._

_Already working. Stop distracting me._

Badger now came down the ramp, and met the others. Atwood and Badger were nominally acquainted already; Badger may have been a dirty lowlife crook, but he was also a tax payer and a source of donations for election. Badger gave Marcus a dirty look; it was returned as a slightly apologetic one. He had met Monty and Raven before, but hadn't met Shu; he greeted him elaborately in very literate and polite Mandarin.

He turned to Petaline and turned on the charm; Mal couldn't deny that despite the little man's occasionally poor judgement and his annoying tendencies, he had a way with women. He thought he saw a bit of interest in Petaline's eyes as well; _have to nip that in the bud._

_Sure thing, Mr. I don't want relationships on my boat_ he heard, followed by more of her tinkling laughter.

Mal walked over to the stack of wood, and lit it; within a minute or two, it was a roaring bonfire.

"Now that we're all here, might as well explain what it is we're here for.

"It starts with a girl named River Tam and a government-supported Academy, funded by Blue Sun. And a little planet called Miranda."

* * *

><p>Simon worked in his infirmary; he'd done all the prep work he could do ahead of time during their run to Sophie, and now he was following a trail he'd first discovered right after River and Jamie had been brought back on board.<p>

He put the blood sample into the new gadget that they'd acquired from New Kasmir; it was a gene sequencer and DNA analyzer. He'd scanned two samples already, and the third was showing exactly what he'd come to expect.

Kaylee poked her head into the infirmary; between the business of their run to Sophie, and the problems beforehand, they'd been unable to spend any time together.

"What's going on, ai ren?"

He looked up and brightened; he held out his arms and she slipped into the infirmary, coming over to sit on his lap. "Just doing some research."

"Mmm. What kind of research?" she mumbled, his touch already driving her to distraction.

"I'm doing a deep DNA analysis. Right now I'm scanning Mal's genome." He could be decidedly overdevoted to his work, she grumped. It was one of the reasons she loved him, but it also drove her crazy when he got on something and didn't let go.

She turned then, and eyed him worriedly. "Why Mal?"

"It's just confirming something I've discovered in Jamie's and River's." He brought up a scan of first Jamie's, and River's genome; a similar section of code was highlighted.

"This section of the DNA corresponds to a portion of the brain that I think controls River's reading abilities; Jamie shows a very similar genetic mutation in that section."

"Jamie's a Reader too?"

"Wish I could be sure. There's a distinct difference between a genetic potential and an actualized ability. I've actually got the proper gene sequences, but for some reason they never triggered. I'd say that he's definitely got some form of the ability though; you can see that the sections of the code aren't identical."

"Jamie sure seems to be able to read us sometimes though."

"He does; I've heard him refer to things being written on our faces. I'd wager that his ability manifests itself in that form. He can see our thoughts displayed on our faces; it actually seems to be able to happen over a cortex link or 'Wave, because we've seen him do that with Badger before."

"That's right! He knew something was wrong, but River didn't."

"He also seems to have very sharp instincts for danger. Again, it likely fits into this."

"But why are you scanning Mal's?"

"I could say it's just a hunch, but that would be a lie. Truth is, I've seen Mal suss out things he shouldn't have been able to before. He and River also seem to have quite a connection; they carry on conversations in their heads all the time." Kaylee smiled at Simon's choice of words; he'd changed mightily from the stuck-up Core boy he'd been before he found Serenity.

"Hmm." she said, relaxing again into his arms. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll suss it out, bao bei." she said, murmuring again as she fell lightly asleep.

* * *

><p>River sat on the bridge, eyes closed as she searched among the myriad minds she could touch on in this clearing. She felt Simon and Kaylee's conversation; she made a mental note to speak with Simon later. She normally didn't open herself to the minds of others this much, and the press as she let down the walls nearly unbalanced her. She focused on Mal's familiar mix of lightness and darkness until she regained stability; then she went hunting. She blocked away each mind as she looked through it, feeling their emotions, feelings, and surface thoughts. Any time she found something unusual, she <em>Read<em> deeply.

Those gathered in the clearing were a strange brew of thoughts and feelings; she could read their curiousity turn to horror and disgust, as Mal explained the reasons for their plans. Soon enough, she shut them out as she felt the acceptance and even eagerness arise in their minds.

She began to search among the boats gathered here; there were 10 on Monty's Skylark, 6 on Raven's Junebug, and 5 on Shu's Firefly. She searched and searched among these minds until she found what she was looking for.

Her eyes were hard when she opened them.

_Found them, bao bei._

_Who do I warn?_


	22. Chapter 22

"Amber, set us a course fer Pi Gu. Can ya get us there in 2 days?" Monty said loudly.

"If we full burn, Monty. Just barely though."

"Alright. Get us there. Let me know when we're burnin', I'm gonna go take a snooze."

Monty clomped out of the bridge, heading for his bunk. The door in the bunk nearest the bridge was cracked open slightly; he didn't seem to notice as he strode off.

The man in the bunk went to his Cortex panel in the room and signed on; he set up several encryption codes and sent a brief message. His handiwork seemingly done, he went back to bed, a slim smile on his face.

* * *

><p>"We have received a message from our agent onboard the Browncoat's ship. The next meet is scheduled for 2 days from now, on Pi Gu orbiting St. Albans, in the Red Sun system."<p>

"I'll have our men waiting there. We'll put these huen dahns out of business once and for all."

"I will provide the exact landing coordinates to your troops."

"I'll be contacting them."

* * *

><p>Amber Polymieux, First Mate of the Walrus and an old noncom of Monty's from the war, saw the signal outgoing on the periphery of her monitor. She touched the earwig comm in her ear and whispered quietly.<p>

* * *

><p>The door to Keith Cross's room burst open, and a very tall, very burly, and very angry Montgomery Dixon thundered, "You lousy sonuvabitch!" He stomped forward and pulled the somewhat skinny man out of the bed, clad only in his unders.<p>

"Three months on my boat and you'd sell out me and mine, fer what? A few lousy coin?"

Cross had never seen Monty truly angry before, and was shocked into responding. "Not just a few." he whispered.

Monty's face grew colder, the anger ceasing its bubbling on the surface and simmering deeper. "Malcolm Reynolds and his little witch girlfriend told me you were a gorram mole. Can't slip nothin' past her!" he thundered again.

With nothing more than brute force, he practically picked the little man up and forced him ahead down the corridors. With a touch of horror, Cross realized where this particular corridor went.

He fought harder, but Monty was a brawler of the first class and knew all of the tricks. He threw Cross into a small room and sealed the door after him. Cross pressed his face against the sealed airlock door and yelled, but no noise came through. Keying a few controls next to the door, he watched as the outer door hissed open, and the little man was sucked out of the opposite lock, tumbling out into space, limbs moving for a few moments before he went still.

Monty watched with grim satisfaction.

* * *

><p>He strode back to the bridge, somewhat cooler. Amber looked up, a slim smile on her face. "Gone?"<p>

"Gone. Gorram mole ain't gonna get the information from us. Set us a course to the meeting site. I'll 'Wave Mal."

"Good call, Monty. Guess Mal's girl ain't no fool."

"She certainly ain't. Think our little meeting on Salyut'll go undisturbed by Blue Sun or the Alliance?"

"Certainly hope so."

* * *

><p>Mal shut off the 'Wave screen after hearing from Monty; he turned to River as she sat in the pilot seat, monitoring their course to Salyut. "Monty got him. You're sure that was all?"<p>

"Think it was the only one Blue Sun could get into place. No moles are getting past us, and Raven'n Shu aren't hiring on crew; all their crew is reliable."

She felt Mal's thoughts go to a dark place. "No, Mal. He's not. He's been nearly killed several times, trying to protect us or himself from the Blue Hands and the Alliance; why would he sell us out now? He's been the driving force in getting us here!" She could feel her carefully practiced control breaking under the strain of this argument.

"Don't know. Know it don't have to make sense. Watch him."

"No, Mal. You have to trust people sometime or another." she yelled at him.

"Gorramit, River, he didn't tell us his whole tale until he was with us near on a month! You say you can't read him real well yerself; what if that's what he's hiding?" Mal was almost yelling, until he saw the captive tears in his bao bei's eyes.

"Talk to Ghuh-ghuh before you make any judgements. He may have the answers you want." she said, in a small voice now.

"Fine." Mal stormed out of the bridge, and River wept silently; hoping against hope she was right.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Simon!<strong>" _Crap._ He knew _that_ particular tone of voice.

"In the common room, Cap'n." he said, looking up the stairs from the couch, infirmary data pad in his lap.

"River said you had answers fer me. What in the sphincter of hell is she talkin' about?"

"You may want to sit down, Cap'n. Your blood pressure must be through the roof."

Mal's eyes ignited at the remark, then cooled down as he realized Simon was _trying_ to bait him. He sat down, glaring at Simon as he moved the data pad so both could see it.

Simon launched into an explanation of what he had been scanning.

"When I ran a scan of your DNA, I found a similar, but smaller scale mutation in those brain centers. I think you may be a natural Reader, but your past experiences may have submerged the talent. Only now, with River around you to make you exercise those talents, have they begun to emerge again."

"That's all well and good, but that's not the answer I'm really lookin' fer."

"Sir?"

"Is it possible that the whole situation on Persephone was to set up Jamie as an agent provocateur?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that we found a mole on Monty's boat. What if they put another on ours?"

"That's impossible Mal. The only recent addition we had was..."

"Yea."

"Impossible. River trusts him. Inara trusts him."

"A mole by definition has to be someone who's trusted."

"Sir, this is paranoia."

"Gorramit, don't tell me what it is!"

"Captain. Is something wrong?" a new voice intruded on them.

"Jamie." the Captain's voice was hard; Jamie hadn't seen that particular face since he'd first been picked up. Simon looked distressed; he could see that the poor doctor was feeling conflicted about something.

"It looks like we need to talk, Captain."

"My bunk. Now."

* * *

><p>"Why are you really here, Jamie?"<p>

Jamie could read the roots of the question in Mal's face, and his own got stony; _Good._ Mal thought.

"Sir, I thought we resolved this trust issue months ago."

"Until we found a gorram mole on Monty's ship. Then it all got a bit fuzzy."

Jamie looked down, chin on his chest; Mal could see sadness touch the man's face. "I promise you, Mal. There isn't any more to tell. I'm not trying to sell you out; for Christ's sake, I thought we were working on the same side here!"

"So did I."

"Fine. If you're at all unsure of my motives here, Captain, you'd best put me out the airlock now. Otherwise, we've got work to do. We have a hell of a lot to plan when we get to Salyut." Mal could see the man's eyes now, and didn't see any duplicity; he saw fear and disappointment, but not shame or guilt.

Mal's own chin dropped, and he looked down. _Gorramit._

"I'm sorry, Jamie. I guess I just got an attack of the paranoias. Happens easy enough."

Jamie could see the shame on Mal's own face now; he smirked. "Happens to the best of us." He put a hand on Mal's shoulder; but didn't feel any connection.

* * *

><p>Inara was looking over her own records, trying to decide who else she could trust to 'Wave for information or help, when Jamie stumbled into the room, collapsing on the bed.<p>

"Jamie?" she said, and when she saw him, she went to him immediately, seeing the pain and hurt on his face as he looked at her.

"Oh, Jamie." she whispered, and pulled him to her, cradling him to her chest.

"All this time, I thought he trusted me. Crissakes, he brought his entire ship into a max security facility on Persephone and rescued me. Why would he suddenly lose faith?"

She lowered her eyes, unable to meet his. "I honestly don't know, honey. Mal's always been...hesitant about giving trust. But I'm going to find out." she said firmly, kissing him on the forehead and getting up with a purpose.

"'Nara?"

"He'd better have a good answer." she said, a fire of anger lighting in her eyes.

* * *

><p>Mal's face ignited with sudden pain as Inara turned him around and slugged him, as he walked back up to the bridge.<p>

"'Nara, what in the sphincter of hell is wrong-"

"You listen to me, Malcolm Reynolds. Jamie has felt trusted, felt like a valuable member of the crew, like _family_! Where did this sudden _Zhen Mei Nai Xin De Fo Zu_ of an attitude come from?"

"We found a gorram mole on Monty's ship. Jamie's always been hard for River to read. What the guai am I supposed to be thinking?"

"You're supposed to trust the gorram people you have on your _Ho Tze Duh Pi Gu_ boat. You're supposed to trust your gorram _family_!"

"Alright, enough of that." both of them heard.

Jamie stood in the doorway to the galley, watching Mal and Inara screaming at each other.

"Jamie?"

"Let's settle this once and for all." he said, and strode to the bridge.

* * *

><p>River looked up as Jamie walked onto the bridge. "Hi." she said in a small voice.<p>

"Hey, mei mei. We need to talk."

"No need to. Screaming audible through bridge door. Screaming also forces thoughts into her mind." Jamie was suddenly a little worried; she only rarely spoke in third person anymore.

"You've gotta read me, all the way through. It's the only way to clear this."

"It hurts her. Hurts her to see the pain."

"River, I can't tell you to do it. But I want you to. Your strength carried us through our ordeal on Persephone. All I can give you now is my strength."

She looked at him, saw the truth of his words. "Okay." she said, in a small voice.

And she opened her mind. She saw past the walls he had carefully erected, past the inner sanctums of his mind, past all defenses.

She saw the potential of his mind and his happy childhood, saw the visit to his parents of a pair of blue-handed strangers when he was 12, saw them dying, bleeding out. She saw him running, escaping into the streets of Ariel.

She saw his years of living as a street rat, all the times he had stolen to keep from going hungry, all the nights when he had anyways, all of the distrust he got from the others; all of the strange looks when he seemed to read strangers like a book.

She saw him kill. He had killed 3 men before he was 15; twice they had been street predators wanting to prey upon a seemingly helpless child. The third had been different; he had stolen from a small shop and was caught by the proprietor. He had learned enough lethal skills on the streets that he could protect himself, but didn't know his own young strength, not yet; she felt his horror at the man he had killed, not out of malice or protection, but simply a slip.

She saw the kindly old man and woman take him in after catching him stealing from their shop; they had seen the desperate boy as an unfortunate orphan rather than a street rat.

She saw their pride when he graduated at 18 from the Ariel Enforcement Academy, under their name. She saw his years at the Marshals CID, she finally saw his skill at computers, the way he could almost meld his own mind with the machines and make them work with barely more than thought.

She saw his pride at being tapped for such an honored position as Operative...she saw the change as he realized the danger, the shame, the loss of humanity from what the job entailed.

She saw his chase of Serenity, for nearly a year. She saw the admiration growing in his memories, admiration for the pluckiness and cleverness of the crew. She saw the realization that he could never bring in the crew, and that he could never betray them. The horror of Miranda flashed in her mind; she saw his certainty that Miranda had been true, that it hadn't been browncoat propaganda. She saw his life self-destruct, saw him lose his position and rank, and his pride, but not least of all his faith.

She saw his time on Serenity through his own eyes, feeling the emotions. First knowing the distrust they had, then the growing feeling of family and safety. She saw the blossom of love between Inara and Jamie, saw Inara as he saw her, full of light and life. She saw and felt the ecstasy of Inara and Jamie's union, sharper and clearer than she had ever gleaned before.

She felt his triumph and joy when pulling off a nearly flawless heist, his pain and fear when captured by the Hands, and his relief at being back on Serenity.

She saw the wound in his soul at being suspected of spying; it was almost like a physical sword stabbed through the gut.

The connection suddenly broke, and she saw tears streaming down his face, felt them stream down her own. He hugged her, tightly, like he was truly a big brother. She felt the small growth of comfort in his heart again as he felt her own comfort.

"Thank you." he said quietly. "It's been a long time since I've even thought of it all."

"You're welcome, Jamie." she smiled quietly.

* * *

><p>Inara caught Mal as he stumbled, guided him to a chair, and watched him go first blank, then numb, then...he wept?<p>

She'd never seen him weep before!

Mal felt the full force of Jamie's revelation, as tight and painful as River had felt it.

The door to the bridge opened, and Jamie walked out, face dry but his eyes still shining. He saw Mal hunched over the table, and realized that he'd caught at least some of the connection. He walked forward, and put a hand on Mal's shoulder, feeling a connection now. "It's alright. Now you understand."

Inara looked on, a bit confused, a bit charmed, and all relieved at the healing of this particular rift.

* * *

><p>Dinner was tense, and Zoe was concerned; she'd heard Inara and Mal screaming at each other, and Mal and Jamie yelling; then, she'd popped her head out of her bunk to see something she never imagined she'd see; Mal dropped his head and cried.<p>

Inara caught Zoe's eye; she realized that Zoe knew something was going on, but not what. _Later_ her eyes said. River had a few bites, then went back up to the bridge, relieving Wash, who came down for food. Mal was silent, and wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

Badger and his boys, along with Kaylee and Jenny, tried to brighten up everyone's moods by chattering, but with little success. Kaylee could see that Simon was troubled also, and decided to get the whole story from him.

Jayne kept out of it; _no profit in gettin' involved_ he thought.

* * *

><p>Jamie had a nightmare that night; Inara could feel its intensity in his grip. She soothed it away, running her hands over his shoulders and chest, calming him down so he could sleep. <em>How could he ever mistrust him?<em>

* * *

><p>Jayne did a walkabout of the ship later that night, as was his habit; he couldn't sleep very soon after sex, and when Jenny had fallen asleep every night, he always checked the ship. He just felt safer doing so.<p>

He entered the cargo bay, and found Mal sitting on the catwalk, jug of engine wine in hand. Mal seemed to be unaware of Jayne, and the big man climbed up the catwalk and sat beside him, reaching out for the wine himself. He picked it up, and was surprised at how light it was.

"Ya alright?" he asked, nervous that Mal was drinking so heavily all alone.

Mal turned to him, eyes redrimmed and bleary from the booze, but also from some recent grief.

"Riv kicked me out. Said I wuz sleepin' on th'couch."

"Well, sure don't look like yer sleepin' now."

"Can' sleep. Don' wanna. Tired of nightmares."

"Talk to th' doc? Sure he'd give ya a smoother."

Mal glared at Jayne. "When'd ya become my ma?"

"When ya decided to finish off a jug o'engine wine by yer lonesome after pissin' River off."

"Y'know, I don' think I ever 'pologiz'd ta ya fer puttin' ya in th' airlock." Jayne was startled at the sudden change of discussion.

"Didn' deserve it then." Jayne said, taking a swig of wine.

"River's like ta put me in there righ' now."

"Doubt it. She's just pissy. Let her sleep it off and she'll be better."

"Wha th' hell d'ya know 'bout it?" Mal slurred angrily.

"Done it m'self once're twice. Always jus' let the little woman sleep it off, she'll be a mite calmer in the morn'."

"I suspec'd Jamie've bein' a mole."

"Explains dinner."

"Shouldn've. Man's lived through mor' go shi than'coulda 'magined."

"Ya didn' seem ta trust me all that much once're twice, seems ta be."

"Leas' yer shitlist days were warran-warr'ntd. Jamie don' deserve none o' that."

"No, he don't. Good man." Jayne rumbled.

"So why'd I go all monkeyshit on'm?"

"Cuz yer a crotchety paranoid ol' browncoat."

Mal glared, saw that Jayne had a small smile on his face. "Conjur' yer righ' 'bout tha."

"I know I am."

"When'd ya become such a philo- smar' guy?"

"When I pulled my head outta my pi gu 'bout Serenity's crew bein' family."

"Seems yer a mite les' ornery than befor'."

"Gettin' reg'lar sex does tha' to a man."

"Nah, befor' tha. Why'd ya thin' we put up wi' ya and Jenny in th' firs' place?"

"Guess yer right about that. After losin' th' Shepherd, saw that family's whatcha make it, reckon."

"Gorram righ'bout tha', 'dwager."

"Come on, Cap'n. Time ta take a nice nap on th' couch."

"'kay" the captain whispered, then started snoring. Jayne picked him up, grunting with the effort; Mal wasn't a lightweight. He put him gently on the common room couch and pulled a blanket over him, pulled off his boots, and went to his own bunk. He slipped in behind Jenny and pulled her tightly to him, feeling her curl up against him, snuggle up against his arms. He drifted off to sleep; feeling a little better after getting the Cap'n off the catwalks.

* * *

><p>Inara sat in the galley after comforting Jamie. She waited for Zoe to come up.<p>

The soldier padded quietly into the galley, grabbing a cup for herself, and pouring some tea from Inara's teapot.

She sat across from Inara, and saw that Inara was feeling pained. "You alright?"

"Jamie was a bit torn up; hurt me to see him like that."

"What in the gorram hell happened?" Zoe whispered.

"Well..." Inara explained what had happened, as far as she knew; even she didn't know about River's read of Jamie's mind, of Mal's own gleaning of those memories.

"Never seen Mal cry before. Not in as long as I've known the man."

"Myself neither. I suspect that it has something to do with River, but what actually happened, I can't tell. I only know that after Mal wept, Jamie came out and they seemed to come to an understanding."

"Don' know why Mal'd go suspecting him anyways."

"I think the thing with Monty's mole set it off. I think Mal's always suspected there was more to Jamie's story. I guess he saw what it was, truly. It shook him."

"Sure hope they get it sussed out soon; when we get to Salyut we ain't gonna have time to be dealing with this. Gotta be ready to plan and move."

"Agreed."

* * *

><p>Mal awoke to the smell of coffee; he opened his e yes and saw River standing before him, holding the cup under his nose. "Morning, Bao bei. Feeling like less of <em>Ho Tze Duh Pi Gu<em> this morning?"

"Just like a normal ass. My normal ornery self."

She beamed. "Good. Breakfast is in 10." She skipped off towards the galley.

Mal sipped the coffee, feeling the warmth seep into his aching bones. He looked up and saw Jamie coming from the dorms. He grinned, hoping to get back to normal with the man. A ghost of a grin answered him.

_Go shi._

Jamie then smiled wider, as he saw the consternation on Mal's face. He went up to the galley, feeling hopeful for the morning.

Everyone looked up and the room went silent for a moment, then when Mal came up behind him and smacked him on the back, moving to his own place, they sighed in relief and continued their conversations.

Hopefully no more little land mines would pop up on their trip to Salyut.


	23. Chapter 23

Captain Arlen Landros, commander of _IAV Discovery_, an Alliance corvette class ship, led the small 10 ship fleet unit out to Pi Gu, moon of St. Albans in the Red Sun system. The information developed by General Chan and his contacts within Blue Sun had indicated that a meetup of Browncoat ships was due here; he had been assigned to break up the meet, capture all of the participants, and deliver them to Osiris for questioning.

As the Discovery broke atmo on Pi Gu, Landros began to get a funny feeling; his electronics men hadn't detected any electrical signals in the assigned meeting space at all. They made a first sweep, then a second; nothing. There was only one town on this little ass-end of the 'Verse moon, and it was on the other side. _The ships should be there_, he reasoned.

As Discovery and her other escorts, including Shift-class long range patrol ships and 2 ASREV gunships landed on the snowy plain of Pi Gu, Landros had a nasty feeling that they'd had a trick played on them. The blizzard struck hard; it froze all of the ships in place, and would continue for a week, minimum.

Something had gone seriously wrong.

* * *

><p>General Chan sat down, ashen-faced; he'd been responsible for sending a 10 ship unit out to that ass-end of the 'Verse; it was at its perigee, farthest from Red Sun and farthest out from the Core it could get. Reading the message flimsy from Landros again, he began to curse, loudly. He'd sent 10 ships, at great expense of fuel to ensure they reached the location in time, to the ass-end of the 'Verse, for no gorram reason! <em>Mei Yong Ma Duh Tse Gu Yong!<em> Landros had reported that they would be a week delayed, something about some gorram snowstorm on the planet.

Somebody had played him for a fool. He'd find out who it was.

* * *

><p>They stopped on another skyplex for fuel and supplies; Jamie had slipped off the ship to do some quick shopping, after 'Waving a friend on the Skyplex on the way. River had giggled when he told her he was going shopping.<p>

"No peeking, mei mei."

"Don't need to peek, ghuh ghuh. Your intentions are loud and clear."

"Then don't say anything."

"Safe with me." she whispered, a big grin on her face.

* * *

><p>After 4 days of hard burn, <em>Serenity<em> and her ally ships _Lady's Revenge_, _Walrus_, and _Calamity Jane_ arrived at Salyut, orbiting Meadow around Georgia. By prearrangement, they would stay there 4 days, with Marcus arriving 2 days after them because of a slight detour to Londinium, where he would be dropping off Charles Atwood.

Phase 1 of their operation would already be underway. Phase 2 would depend on their plans and preparations while on Salyut.

* * *

><p>After arriving on Londinium, Charles Atwood began 'Waving his friends and allies in Parliament. He called on firebrands and idealists, the kind of men and women who would help them scour out the mildew that had accumulated in Parliament over the decades. One of these friends was William Bucklin, a member of Parliament for Boros. Another of the "Rim-world 'ristocrats," Bucklin was an agitator for greater representation for the Rim in Parliament politics. He had been one of the few Parliament members who had seen the Miranda 'wave in full detail, and had believed it.<p>

"Bill. Good to see you." the two men embraced; they were close personal friends.

"Charlie! Been a few days since you've been about. Where've you been keeping yourself?

"Traveling, mostly. Bit of a busy few days."

"Whereabouts?"

"Went out to Sophie, in the Kalidasa system. Met with some people there. People who told me some nasty and true stories."

Bill Bucklin gave him a strange look; "Who could you have possibly been meeting on Sophie?"

"Browncoats." Atwood felt no worries about speaking candidly in his apartments; they were kept exquisitely scanned and protected by his security detail.

"Thought the Browncoats were scattered to the four winds now. They couldn't win the war then; what makes them think they can win it now?"

"It wasn't really about the Independence movement. It was about something that one particular crew of Browncoats tumbled to. This has to stay between us; no friends, no relatives, no lovers, until I give the sayso. Understand?"

"Sure, Charlie. What happened?"

"The Academy and Miranda happened."

* * *

><p>Salyut was another forested moon; it was a prime place for everyone to stop off, rest their ships and crews, and prepare for their strike. Mal gave the crew the first day off, just to discharge their stress and recharge batteries, before going into heavy planning and preparations.<p>

Here, without the worries of the Alliance mole, the crews mixed freely, working together on various solutions. Serenity's crew had been around Monty's and Jim Raven's crews before, but hadn't ever met with Shu's people; they were new and interesting people, and that first night, all of the crews got together and threw a bit of a shindig, drinking and dancing until the next day was young.

Mal was dancing with River on the impromptu dance floor, near the bonfire, just letting his mind go into idle while he enjoyed the dance. It had been a busy few months; they'd brought on a new crew member, pulled several heists which would have been way outside their normal abilities, rescued their wayward babes after they'd gotten kidnapped, slew a whole passel of Reavers, and a whole crazy mix of things that he hadn't dreamed of.

He was surprised, then, when the music stopped and everybody began cheering, clapping, and catcalling; he looked over and saw Jamie on one knee, with Inara's eyes getting bigger and bigger before she nearly tackled him. He just rolled his eyes.

_Knew it was comin', bao bei. Can't deny it._

_I know that. Still a bit of a surprise. After the past few days..._

_He's forgiven you. Don't keep dragging up what's past _she thought, a fairly common argument between them.

They found themselves in front of Inara and Jamie soon enough, congratulating them. Inara was weeping happily; in all her years as a Companion, she'd had men propose marriage, exclusive deals, and all manner of other strange customs. Who would have thought she'd be happily accepting the proposal of a former Federal hacker and criminal? She looked at the ring again, seeing the thought he'd taken in choosing it. It wasn't big, nor flashy; but it was _him._

* * *

><p>Petaline and her ladies had been busy; the boldest of the ladies got abbreviated combat training; learning about overwatch, cover fire, fire discipline, and such. Those who weren't ready for actual combat were given training on the ships they were on; they would be support while the crews went in, guns blazing. The last of the ladies were trained as medics by Simon; they already had general medical skills from their hard lives on the Rim, but he taught them the most important combat medic skills; triaging and assessing injuries, stabilizing wounded, and the like. It wouldn't be like the real thing, but then, nothing but actual injuries could prepare them for the real thing.<p>

The ladies had also taken it upon themselves to ply their trade during the flights to Salyut and the stay there; the single men (and women) would find themselves well taken-care-of. Weren't all that many that were truly unattached, so the single ones got quite special attention. Badger and Petaline seemed quite taken with each other on Serenity; seemed they couldn't see one without the other nearby.

* * *

><p>Mal and Jamie worked closely on getting support from unconventional fronts, and on taking down the security systems they would be finding. The rift between the two men had been healed, mostly. Jamie had finally had some luck, with some help from Mal and the other electronics gurus on the other ships, on getting access to layout plans for the Academy. They also had location traces and the codes to the orbital security platforms.<p>

It wasn't going to be getting in that was as tricky. Getting out would be hell itself though. Mal didn't want to think about that quite yet; they were already faced with a tough enough task.

"Mal, are you sure about this?"

"Yea. Contact him. Tell him where to meet us."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>The third day on Salyut, Marcus' sleek small ship landed in one of the landing spots. He closeted himself with Mal and the rest of the leaders when he returned, briefing them on what he had accomplished and what Atwood was working on; their contacts with the media and political figures were going well. Atwood was beginning to set up a committee meeting regarding ethical violations of Blue Sun's research division; such meetings were somewhat common, but usually never amounted to anything. The editors and newsmen that Marcus had contacted were prepped to receive the information about the Academy, and had made sure that they would get unrestricted access to their media outlets.<p>

Marcus wandered around the campfire late on the third night, watching the crews as they tried to relax after a day of hard work. There wasn't much dancing these nights, just sitting and talking shop, playing music, or whatever else they needed to do to relax.

Marcus came to a stop when he saw a taller man standing at the edge of the ring, looking right at him.

First Mate Tom Marvela of _Lady's Revenge_ stalked forward, looking for all the world like a hunting cat.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here, 'Marcus'."

"I am trying to atone for past mistakes and sins. If I had the choice, I would not so pollute this gathering with my presence."

"Then leave. Nothing stopping you."

"Nothing but my promises to Captain Reynolds."

"You can't keep promises to your family, but you can to an old pirate you have every reason to hate?"

"Gents. I don't mean to intrude, but seems there's a tussle about to start. Prefer that not happen." an authoritative voice rang out; forewarned by River, Mal had gone looking for the Operative.

"Captain. I didn't see you there."

"Marcus can tell you I can be very graceful if I need to."

Marcus's face cracked in a grin on one side. "I still remember that costume, Mal. Quite an ensemble."

"Tom, do you two know each other?"

"He's my brother." Marcus said simply.

"If I recall correctly, you renounced your name and our brotherhood in the same breath." Tom Marvela said, storming off.

Marcus' face fell; anyone else other than Mal Reynolds might have missed it, but Mal had gotten to know the man too well.

"I would have liked for that to have gone better." Marcus said quietly; clearly his brother's approval meant a great deal to him.

"He'll come around."

* * *

><p>Tom Marvela sat on the bridge of Lady's Revenge, staring out at the night sky through the bridge windows. He was thinking about his past, woolgathering in the few green places that existed on Londinium, where he had spent his childhood with his brother.<p>

"Copper fer 'em." he heard a quiet voice. He jumped, and saw River standing behind him, as she looked curiously about the bridge of Lady's Revenge; so different from Serenity, yet very similar in function.

"Guess I was just thinking."

"I could see."

"...so Jim wasn't kidding when he said you were a Reader."

"He wasn't. I try not to read friends, but sometimes it's impossible to not hear."

"I imagine you heard that argument outside."

"Not here, but here." she said, pointing to her temple. "You know, he thinks very highly of you. He still desires your approval, even when he knows he won't get it." River got into the co-pilot seat, pulling her feet up into the seat and wrapping her arms around her legs, leaning her chin on her knees.

"If he wanted approval, he wouldn't have run off and renounced his family and name, to go kill people for the government."

"I don't disagree. I do think you should look at his motives though. Whatever he's done in the past, he's done because he believed it would result in a better life for the rest of the 'Verse. He's been spectacularly wrong, but that doesn't necessarily make him a bad person. Just wrong."

"And what about killing people?"

"Speaking as a government-trained weapon, I can say that one doesn't always do what one wants to when they're filled with that kind of training and propaganda."

"S'pose not."

"You can see from his presence here that he's already abandoned all of the things he thought he was trying to gain. He found out what the real 'Verse was like, and adjusted his beliefs accordingly."

Marvela just looked at her, scowling as he realized she was getting more and more right by the minute.

She smirked, and looked up at the sky for a moment. "I much prefer the Black over even a pretty night sky. Doesn't mean it isn't pretty though."

He looked at her out of the corner of one eye, realizing she was making a metaphor.

"You're saying that even though I don't like him, I should at least try to make peace?"

"Got it in one. You've only got the one brother." she said, with certainty. "Although I've found that you can find brothers in the strangest places in the 'verse, I always loved my ghuh ghuh because I knew he wouldn't just leave me in the Academy."

"You've made your point." Tom said, smiling. He stood up and held out a hand to her, pulling her to her feet. "Why don't you go find your Gentleman Thief?"

"I think I will." she smiled, padding off towards the bonfire.

* * *

><p>"Is there any food? I haven't eaten in some time."<p>

"Jenny's got a kettle of stew over near the fire. Go help yourself." Mal said, then wandered off, probably to find his lady.

"Thank you." Marcus drew a bowl of stew and grabbed a spoon, then sat down on one of the logs near the fire. He looked into the fire and began eating the stew; it seemed to actually be made of real meat and real vegetables, a rarity among spacer crews.

He didn't react, nor make any motion, but he knew when someone sat next to him with their own bowl of stew. He continued eating slowly, enjoying every bite.

"It's good." he said finally.

"It is. Jenny's a hell of a cook. Much better than Jason; poor kid can only heat up packaged protein."

"I haven't had stew like this in a long time...probably since we went camping at the Thames River park on Londinium."

"I remember. We had done so poorly fishing the previous time, that Mother took pity on us and sent food along."

"I still can't fish." Marcus murmured, a grin on his face.

"Not the only one, little bro. Maybe you should take a little vacation on New Melbourne for a while; good chance to learn how to gut sturgeon." Marcus could hear the laugh in Tom's voice.

"Maybe when this business is done, we can go together. It could be a learning experience."

"Sounds like a plan."

The two finally met eyes; "I know you're not completely happy with this still, Thomas. But hopefully this is improving?"

"Just needed a 5 foot tall genius psychic to remind me."

"The girl certainly has a way with words."

* * *

><p>The crews of all 4 ships slept soundly that night. River was awake early, and went up to the bridge; alarmingly, the detection sensor had gone off on the sensor grids. She swore, then raced to the sensor console and isolated the signature; Shift class patrol boat, and it was on an inbound trajectory.<p>

"Wake up, we may have company!" she shouted into the comm; within 30 seconds, Wash, Zoe, and Mal were in the bridge. Jamie joined them 30 seconds after.

She was showing them the sensor traces of the Shift class ship when Jamie got there; at that moment, there was a crackle as an incoming comm wave turned the receiver on.

"Techtonic, this is Tarmigan. Requesting permission to land."

Jamie's eyes suddenly lit up. "Tarmigan! Of course!"

He grabbed the comm handset off the overhead and drawled, "Tarmigan, this is Techtonic. Permission granted. Set your boat down next to the big Skylark."

"Roger that, over and out."

Mal glared for a moment, annoyed at Jamie's quick response, then comprehension dawned. "That must be our buddy from Persephone."

"Seems likely."

Mal turned a teasing eye to the haphazardly dressed Jamie. He noted the fresh bitemarks all up his neck, and snickered. "Techtonic?"

"I was 16, it seemed like the thing to do at the time."

"Go get dressed, everybody; we've got guests to meet."

* * *

><p>The main ramp of the IAV Toscany lowered just as the welcoming party approached. Down the ramp came two men; if it weren't for their differences in physique and height, they'd look like twins. As it was, they were clearly brothers.<p>

Of Chinese ancestry, the men had a proud bearing. One was about an inch taller, but was slightly skinnier; the other was burly and strong, and looked very familiar indeed to Mal and River. Both men wore civilian clothes, but the clothes had a decidedly military bent to them.

"Captain Reynolds." he said, smiling. "I'm hoping these are those better circumstances we spoke about."

"So'm I, Captain."

"So, I understand we're storming a castle somewhere."

"That's right."

"Well, then. You'll need people to scale the walls." Captain Li reached one hand up and snapped his fingers. 20 men and women strode down the ramp behind him, all wearing the same sort of semi-military civilian clothes, so similar that they resembled a uniform. Each and every one of the newcomers looked like they could take bites off of starship hulls and spit out nails.

"I think these guys'll do." Li said, a smirk cracking his face.

"They're all volunteers? This job is by choice only. We don't want nobody as is unwillin' to accept th' risk."

"Both Will's people and my crew are volunteers, Captain." said the taller man. He stepped forward and shook Mal's hand. "Jeff Li."

Mal got a bit closer and whispered. "And you're all aware that this job'll get ya court martialed?"

"Doesn't matter if it's the right thing to do."

Mal gave a nod of approval, then pulled Will and Jeff Li into their planning session for the day.


	24. Chapter 24

They were ready. All of the planning and scheming and preparing had led to this.

The operation began with the smallest of actions. A skyplex near Osiris was visited by a Firefly; a single man got off and went to a public cortex terminal. Inserting an unusual data stick into the reader before he began, he logged into the system and cracked into a highly secure computer system. A virus was implanted, and he logged back out, after leaving himself a little back door into the system.

The time, from entry to exit, was 12 minutes.

* * *

><p>"Osiris Orbital Control, this is IAV Tarmigan. Submitting landing clearance codes now."<p>

The control officer in the orbital control center recognized the code, and accepted it without question.

"IAV Tarmigan, permission to land granted. Happy trails."

"Rogerandthankyou, overandout."

The IAV Toscany tipped upwards, reaching a proper reentry attitude. Their projected course was set to take them near to Capitol City, to the main port there, but 2 minutes into their reentry, the airborne detection grids surrounding Capitol City suddenly went offline, their control systems locked.

The Toscany shifted course, aiming for a spot about 200 miles outside of Capitol City. In less than 3 minutes, she drew near to the pristine business park setting. The lights outside of the business park suddenly turned off, and a series of quick cannon shots from the Toscany wrecked a number of cunningly hidden defensive turrets. The Toscany circled once and set down gently on a landing pad.

* * *

><p>"OOC, this is Skywatch; we've got a couple of meteors on approach, not the right season for them. What do you read?"<p>

"Skywatch, this is OOC. Our detection grids are currently down; damned computer systems are on the fritz. I'd send our Birds in, but we lost contact with them not too long ago. Our comm systems are suffering unknown failures at this time."

"Sounds like you need a repair crew, OOC. No bother, we'll keep an eye for them; probably going to burn up in orbit. Thanks for checking."

* * *

><p>A series of dark-clad figures slid from the blacked out Toscany; they spread out across the grounds of the business park, searching for the night guards. A series of muted pops across the business park signaled the end of those guards, and all-clear messages were transmitted back to Toscany.<p>

Less than 30 seconds later, 3 glowing red spots appeared and grew, seemingly about to crash into the pad; then, suddenly, all three came to a gradual stop, mere hundreds of feet up. They lowered slowly, hulls still glowing dull red from the hot reentry, engines burning just fast enough to lighten the ships so that they could lift off easily.

Cargo ramps lowered, and more shadowy figures disembarked. The Toscany buttoned up, waiting for any report of incoming ships.

* * *

><p>River, Marcus, and Jamie moved silently up to the side entry of the main building; they passed first one, then another body, both lying face down in the dirt with a single bullet wound each.<p>

Jamie pulled out his cortex pad and connected to the electronic locking system; he cracked the encryption in under a minute and backwashed the system codes into his pad; disconnecting, he entered the code on the keypad next to the door, and the door opened with an inaudible click.

He grinned, and held the door open for River, who held her silenced pistol up as though trained for military operations, checking both sides of the door, and entered. Marcus followed, semiautomatic in right, sword in left. Jamie put his pad in his pack and followed, his familiar semi-auto pistol fitted with its new silencer.

They were assigned to penetrating the core of the facility; they were to access the computer, transmit the information out, and open up the security systems for the others to get in through. River was also intending on finding out where all of the current victims were being held; once unlocked, those children would be freed from this place if it killed her.

* * *

><p>"Osiris Orbital Command, this is Skylark Transport Cannonball, we have lost power and are unable to maintain orbit; requesting emergency landing permission!" a gruff voice came over the comm.<p>

"Cannonball, this is OOC; what is your ship registration number?"

Static answered.

The control officer turned to his superior; "Must have lost comm power too. Without our detection grid, we can't see where they are. Skywatch, do you have a bearing on that disabled ship?"

"Negative, OOC. Got nothing on our end."

"Damn. Just hope it doesn't hit somebody important."

"Roger that, OOC. Over and out."

* * *

><p>"Amber, ya got our vector yet?" Monty asked nervously.<p>

"We're on it now, Cap'n. They picked a different landing site for the Walrus; musta thought there wouldn't be enough room for this barge on the other pad." she teased.

The Walrus came down fast, but not as hard as the others; if they tried to pull the same trick as Serenity had done 2 or 3 times already, they'd leave a crater in the planet's surface.

Monty's second, a big redheaded gunhand named Howard McMorris, came up to the bridge; he was armed from head to toe. "Brought yer guns, Monty. Ya ready for this?"

"Surely am, Mac. Damn good to be goin' back into battle with Malcolm Reynolds again."

* * *

><p>Mal and most of the crew of Serenity broke the access on the outer doors, and entered carefully, Jayne and Zoe checked the corridors, expecting to see the first line of guards; with only the emergency lights on, though, no guards were evident. Armed and armored heavily, all of them moved quickly but carefully; they had a half-hour, maybe 35 minutes before the virus Jamie had planted in the orbital control system was rooted out.<p>

They hit their first barrier at the inner security checkpoint; 10 guards wearing Blue Sun coveralls and armed with sidearms waited; they were ready for maybe a few men, lightly armed; they weren't expecting what they found. Vera greeted them, along with a few shots from Zoe's Mare's Leg. Mal had the big 10 gauge shotgun he had carried into the New Kasmir job; a pair of buckshot rounds dropped two of the guards and winged a third.

In seconds, all 10 men were down or dead. Jayne's LeMat revolver quickly put that to rights, though. They ran to the main stairwell, one of Badger's mercs and Petaline's ladies covering their rear.

* * *

><p>"Sir, there's a wave for you." The adjutant said. "I'm directing it to your ready room."<p>

"Thank you." the Alliance captain said, going to his ready room and sitting down.

"Hello sir." he said upon seeing the face on the view screen. "How can I help you today?"

"How long until you're at the coordinates off Osiris I'm providing now? I've got a mission for you."

* * *

><p>Jim Raven and 3 of his, as well as Chin Shu and 3 of his own were entering a different section of the complex in search of a different goal; Jason Findley easily popped the mechanical lock on the emergency elevator that they had found. They squeezed in; it was designed for maybe 4 people, and 8 were hard-pressed to fit in.<p>

* * *

><p>Captain Li and 9 of his platoon were heading for the main security station on the top floor of the complex; they were being supported by Sergeant Cavanaugh and the rest of the platoon as they moved in a parallel hallway, hoping to catch the security station between them.<p>

Tech Corporal Vaughn flew a tiny remote drone around the corner, seeing the security people milling about the station, trying to make contact with somebody, anybody...all of the external comms were down.

With a series of hand signals, both teams cleared the corner and ruthlessly neutralized the Blue Sun security men, 25 in all, in only a few seconds.

The gunfire drew attention though; one of the Blue Sun troubleshooter teams was near, and responded quickly; two of Li's team were down, bleeding profusely, before they could respond. After the Hands dropped, missing most of their heads, the corpsman checked their people, but they were gone. They marked the position for easy retrieval of their comrades, then moved on to the next security post.

* * *

><p>The computer tech on the Orbital Control station finally managed to reboot the scanner control system.<p>

"Finally." he breathed, then when he began resetting the access...then main power went out, across the station, leaving him in the red glow of emergency lighting.

"Damnit." he murmured, hitting his head gently against the console. "They're not gonna like this."

* * *

><p>River, Jamie, and Marcus reached the main computer control room; they had 2 remaining of the knockout gas grenades, and used them to good effect after Jamie had forced the vault-like door of the complex nerve center. Wearing masks, they entered the computer core rooms and began downloading every bit of data in the computer systems to a portable storage drive Jamie had ginned up.<p>

While the download was in progress, Jamie took advantage of the download time to hack the direct feed cortex link that existed between Blue Sun and this facility; he inserted back doors and exited the system again. Once he had more time, and more data storage, they'd pull down every bit of data from Blue Sun's systems that could be used to harm them.

The download from the Academy's computers was nearly complete when he began to get a chill; the three of them swung to the entry door at the same moment, guns aimed, when two teams of Blue Sun's troubleshooters strode in, looking for all the world like they were bored.

"Subject 0173. We are pleased that you wished to return to your home."

"And Subject Monroe. So kind of you to alleviate our trouble in bringing you here."

"And now, to ensure the ease of this endeavour, _Eta karoom na smecht."_

River tumbled to the ground bonelessly. Jamie's face hardened, and Marcus might have twitched a little bit. Fingers tightened on triggers.

Nobody could have been more surprised a moment later, as River stood up, pistol in each hand, and with fluid motions, dropped both sets of Hands effortlessly.

"Take a lot more than magic tricks to bring me down, huen dahns." she growled.

xxxxx

"_Mal, I need to train the conditioning out of me." she'd said, after returning from the Persephone facility. "I'm tired of it affecting me."_

"_You sure about this?" he murmured, then seeing her nod, began by saying the phrase._

_She fell dreamlessly asleep, then popped awake 1.8 hours later._

"_How long was I out?"_

"_Almost 2 hours."_

"_Must do it again. See if it improves."_

_Mal said the words again; 1.4 hours later, she stirred. "It seems to be getting easier to wake up, bao bei." he murmured into her hair, kissing her forehead._

_Whenever they had time for it, he would use the safe word; each time, the sleep time lessened. By the time they had left Salyut, she was experiencing only momentary lapses, akin to a tiny blackout of her nervous functions. More than sufficient results._

_xxxxx_

"No more strings to make the doll dance." she grinned, eyes gleaming. Jamie grinned back, then turned to the computer system to begin deleting all evidence of their entry. He left the operating files intact, but destroyed the firewalls and coded barriers so that they could be readily accessed. No sense in destroying evidence, after all.

* * *

><p>Raven and Shu, after ghosting through 2 security sections, reached the cell locations that had been marked on the map. All of them were stunned at the children that had been locked up here; ranging between 11 and 17, the broad mix of boys and girls all betrayed some form of mental illness, and most seemed to suffer several.<p>

They made a quick call to River's team; a few seconds later, the main security doors and cell doors all opened, and the two crews went in to get the children out. There were 13 in all; some of them retained enough clarity to recognize that the men and women were friends. 3 of them required sedation, and were carried out by the bigger members of the crews. They got all of the rest of the children in a line, holding hands, then began their laborious way out.

They had 16 minutes left on their original 30 minute estimate; they would be cutting it close.

They were getting close to the surface when one of Blue Sun's roving security patrols caught up to them; Jason Findley was hit in the back before they knew they were there, and Kaye Barnum, Chin Shu's gunhand, was hit by three shots, one of which injured the child she'd been carrying. Kaye went down hard, not moving.

Three members of the security team went down, then they took cover and it was a firefight. They got the kids out of the way and tried to return fire, but the security team had good cover and superior numbers.

One of the boys, about 16 years old, got a strange look in his eyes, and picked up the big handgun that had fallen from Jason Findley's grasp. The others saw and got a bit wide-eyed, but the boy simply reached his arm around the corner and squeezed off exactly as many shots as there were security guards; no more shots came, and when the smoke cleared, Jim Raven saw that each guard was down with a perfect headshot.

Raven patted the boy on the shoulder, and was rewarded with a fierce grin, then they all got together to pick up the two dead crew and continue on their way out.

* * *

><p>Jamie was just finishing up on the computer, and was disconnecting his pad, then River felt a pressure on her psyche that she hadn't felt in years. She reached out hesitantly with her mind, then felt a familiar brush. "Lisa?" she whispered.<p>

xxxxx

_Lisa Lang had been River's first friend and roommate at the Academy, before it revealed its teeth. Lisa was naturally telekinetic, and could move small objects around effortlessly without touching them._

_Lisa and River were close, very close; River came to know Lisa's mind almost as closely as her own. The guileless girl had no walls, no barriers to understanding. In return, Lisa came to know River almost as intimately from the long talks they would have._

_In their consequent training, Lisa grew to be a better swordsman than even River; her strength and speed, combined with the psychic will to make herself stronger and faster, made her a dangerous opponent, one that River only could best by Reading to see her moves ahead of time._

_xxxxx_

River probed more deeply, and the familiarity of Lisa's mind suddenly ended. She found a dark wall, cold and pulsing with power. Lisa's training had been completed.

River, feeling a blur of motion, pulled Jamie out of the way just as a silvery blade would have parted his head from his shoulders; he hit hard, head ringing with the impact. Marcus swept out his blade, and put up a solid defense for a few seconds, before her blindingly fast motions swept past his guard and buried her sword up to the hilt in his gut. She slid the sword out in a single motion, and turned towards River.

Marcus fell to the ground heavily, and with a last burst of strength, cried out "River!" and tossed the sword into the air.

River snatched it on the downsweep, barely parrying Lisa's concerted efforts. The battle raged, with Marcus unable to move, dying of blood loss, and Jamie dazed on the ground; River knew she wouldn't be able to hold out for long against Lisa. The girl had natural talent, and although River could read her moves, predict her actions, she couldn't stand up against the fully trained Academy assassin for long.

River had one thing in her advantage; two and a half years traveling with Serenity had subtly altered her fighting styles. Once beautifully formal and smooth, and thoroughly predictable, she had picked up dirty fighting methods from Mal, brute strength locks and throws from Jayne, and Zoe's smoothly animalistic strikes.

She could hold her own, but the effort was taxing; she was losing control, losing focus quickly. Finally, the sword was pulled away with a flick of Lisa's wrist, and River knew she couldn't get out of the way in time.

"Eta karoom na smecht!" she heard a familiar voice yell, and Lisa dropped like a bag of stones. River swayed a moment, then turned to see the most welcome face she'd seen in...ever.

Mal rushed in and hugged her, then turned to the others. "Jayne!" he said, pointing to Marcus; Zoe roused Jamie, and made sure he had everything they brought with him, including the data drive they had filled with Academy files. Badger's man picked up the sleeping Lisa and brought her along. Petaline snagged the sword, handing it to River as they left.

* * *

><p>As they ran out, Mal filled in River on what they had found.<p>

_Business offices were all empty. Conjure they must be home sleepin' peacefully._

_They'll get what they deserve when this gets out._

Mal heard the edge of cold brutality in her thoughts, and shivered internally; he loved this woman more than life itself, but she could be scary occasionally.

_Only to those as mean us harm, ai ren._

* * *

><p>They pulled up short as they hit a final blockade, with almost 25 guards standing, armed with automatic weapons. The last team of Blue Hands were there; Mal's team was outnumbered, even with Jamie and River there, especially loaded down with two people being carried.<p>

"Stand down; you are all bound by law." said the lead Hand.

The tense standoff continued for a few seconds, then River smiled slightly.

"Two by two, hands of blue...ever seen a sasquatch?"

The Blue Hands cocked their heads in confusion, then one was nearly brained by Monty's shotgun as he buttstroked him. The shotgun leveled, and blew the other Hand halfway across the hall. The rest of Monty's crew, and Badger and most of his crew, opened fire on the security guards, clearing a path for Mal's crew to get out.

Badger was separated from his crew by the fighting; he tagged along with Mal's crew, nursing a shoulder injury. Monty and the rest of his people went back towards the Walrus, heading for the exit.

* * *

><p>Tears streamed down Inara's face as she sighted on another Blue Sun guard, making his way towards the ships. She squeezed the trigger gently, and the 54R sniper rifle in her hands made a chugging sound, while the guard tumbled to the ground, dead.<p>

She and Jenny had taken up a sniper position on the top of Serenity, while 2 of Badger's mercs held the main hold. Wash was locked in the bridge, and Kaylee and Simon, along with Petaline's ladies (those as had been trained as nurses) stayed locked in the engine room.

The guards hadn't started coming out until after the assault had begun in earnest, and 2 full teams of ten had tried to approach the ships.

Inara had hesitated on the first few, then settled in. Jenny was cold as ice, picking off troops from distances that Jayne would later marvel at. The girl was a born sniper, just needing a bit of seasoning.

Jenny felt numb as she ended another Blue Sun guard; she knew she'd pay for this death later, but couldn't bring herself to feel bad about it now. What these huen dahns had done to River...she would kill them all if she could.

Finally, she saw familiar faces exiting the building, and did a head count; all were there, although some had to be carried. She saw Chin Shu carrying his red-headed security specialist, Kaye Barnum, while Jim Raven carried Jason Findley between himself and a teenaged boy wearing a simple surgical gown.

Captain Li and his men came out just after, 2 men-bodies-being carried out, while 3 were helped along as best they could, hopping or limping to their ship. The three who were gravely injured were brought to Serenity, and the nurses and Simon now came out, beginning their work, triaging and beginning treatment.

Finally Mal and her family on Serenity exited the front doors; Mal took a second and put a piece of paper up on the door before leaving, then they took off across the landing field and boarded Serenity. Jenny and Inara shared a look of solidarity, and slid in through the airlock, feeling the thrum of Serenity's main bay doors closing.

* * *

><p>"Wash, take us outta the world!" Mal yelled into the comm; Serenity lifted off, followed a few seconds later by the other 3 ships. Wash could see as the Walrus lugged herself into the air; <em>Good, Monty's got out too.<em>


	25. Chapter 25

Serenity, Lady's Revenge, Calamity Jane, and the Toscany broke atmo, all 4 going to full burn. Walrus was only seconds behind. As the 5 ships exited the extreme detection range of Osiris' Orbital Control platforms, the main power and computer systems on the platforms reset, operating at normal capacity.

"What the hell?" the computer tech said, sitting back from the system that had just gone online. "Everything seems to be fine now..." he moved forward again, tapping out a command. "Everything reads clear; nothing detected." He noticed that the internal clock on the system was set for 35 minutes ago; _what the ta ma de could that mean?_

* * *

><p>Mal and River ran for the bridge; River because Wash needed her to set their course while he was flying, and Mal because River was heading that way.<p>

Jayne carried Marcus to the infirmary, and Petaline's ladies helped the three of Li's soldiers that had accompanied them. Petaline helped Badger walk towards the infirmary; although his legs weren't hurt, he certainly wasn't avoiding the attention.

Almost everybody who had gone into that place had come out with bruises from armor hits and grazes from the near-misses; Jayne practically looked like a tiger with the slashes on his outfit.

* * *

><p>Jamie looked up at the catwalk, and saw Inara walking down out of the upper airlock with Jenny close behind, both wearing their armor and carrying scoped long-rifles. Inara was a trained master at maintaining her composure and self-possession, but Jamie was a trained master at penetrating such masks. He could see that she was tearing herself apart inside; her role at defending the ship hadn't sat well with her. Though she had done it, and done it well, he had noticed as they ran back to the ships, she probably wouldn't sleep well for weeks. He held out a hand, and she came down to him. She maintained her composure until he held her in his arms, then began to break down. He gently picked her up and walked off towards the dorms.<p>

After putting Marcus on the table in the infirmary, Jayne went back out to the catwalk, in search of Jenny. He found her as she stood on the catwalk, looking down at the kids that had been rescued; she looked hard and cold right now, and he could see that she had fallen into a self-protective state; most gun-hands had one. It was a defensive measure to keep them from getting overwhelmed in battle. He was glad of it; she was turning out to be quite a useful gun-hand, indeed. She looked at him with cold eyes, right up to the point that he reached out and pulled her into a hug. He felt her begin to tremble, and led her off to his bunk so she could work through the shakes privately.

* * *

><p>After seeing to his Captainy duties on the bridge, Mal came down to the infirmary to see how things were going. Zoe had come up to help Wash, so Mal made River come with him to get the tiny slash wounds she had picked up from her battle with Lang taken care of.<p>

Simon was still busy with one of the nurses he had trained; she was the one with the steadiest hands and the least aversion to guts. Marcus had taken a massive gut wound, piercing his GI tract and damaging his stomach lining; he had nearly bled out already, but thankfully one of Badger's men had a matching blood type and had given him a transfusion. Mal could see that Simon was busy, and didn't want to disturb him. He got supplies from one of the nurses and took River to his bunk, tending her wounds himself. She changed into different clothes, and accompanied him to the storage closet off the galley; they'd handcuffed Lisa Lang there until they could figure out what to do with her.

River got a tiny shudder when she entered that room and saw the girl cuffed to the floor; that had been _her_ 18 months ago.

Mal put an arm around her, soothing her; _Weren't the same woman then._

She nodded, then went forward and knelt next to the girl. She didn't expect her to awake any time soon, but she wanted to check and see if the girl was okay.

She had been untouched throughout the fight, except for one bruise on her cheek that River had given her; a surprise headbutt. River began reaching into her mind, feeling her way through the minefields of Academy training. She could still sense the dark and cold aspects of the girl's mind, but they were far less prevalent; it was as though that aspect only dominated when she had been activated. River put a bottle of water and a protein bar close at hand, then left, going back out to the cargo bay. Mal went on into the common room, to check on everybody there. He smirked when he saw Badger sitting stiffly on the couch, head tilted back slightly and snoring, with Petaline pressed along his good side, snoring slightly louder.

* * *

><p>The children that had been rescued from the Academy looked exhausted; all of them were laid out on the ground, on soft mats, dead asleep. One boy remained awake though; he looked about 16, and seemed to almost take on a protector role. He watched her with dark eyes.<p>

"You were like us once."

"Still am. I just hide it better." she said, grinning slightly.

"My name is Johnathan."

"I'm River."

"River? River Tam?"

"Probably for not much longer, but yes."

"The older kids, when they weren't lost in their darkness, sometimes talked about you. Said you had broken out, that your brother had come for you."

"And so he did." she whispered, sitting next to him. "What happened to those others?"

"They died." he said sadly. "Died doing missions for the bad men, died from the bad things they did..."

"One of them didn't die. A blonde girl, about my age. She's up in the galley closet right now."

"...Lisa? I think her name was Lisa. They always called her by a number."

"0158."

"That was it." he said sadly, again. "What are we gonna do now?" he whispered.

"We'll try to take you home, if we can. Lots of uncertainties still floating around. The Academy is gone though. They'll never take you back, not as long as we have breath."

He smiled then, and leaned his head on her shoulder. "I know. We knew somebody would come for us one day."

"That's what family does...I've got to go fly the ship now."

"You fly?" he said, face brightening.

"I surely do. I'll see if our other pilot can come down and see you. You'll like him."

"Okay." he said, sitting back against the crate and watching over the other children, like a big brother.

* * *

><p>"I'll spell you, Wash."<p>

_Damn, she sounds more like Mal every day._

"Do not." River grinned.

"Okay. How're things with everybody?"

"Looks like Inara and Jamie disappeared as soon as we got on board, and Jenny and Jayne are missing in action too." River grinned. "There's 13 kids down in the cargo bay who are sleeping, but if they wake up, they could use a friendly face."

"Think they'll like shadow puppets?" Wash asked, grinning.

"They'd probably also like the boys on the console too."

"Ooh, didn't think of that." he said, as he gathered up an armful of plastic dinos. River managed to hold her mirth in until he had left the bridge, then belly-laughed.

* * *

><p>They were 1 hour out from the Skyplex where they could broadcast their message, when they had their first sign of trouble. River checked the sensor systems when the alarm went off; she blanched at the sight.<p>

"Ta ma de."

* * *

><p>"<em>Captain, need you on the bridge pretty gorram quick!"<em>

"That girl is getting more and more comfortable up there every day." Mal said to one of the soldiers, a twinkle in his eye. He had been keeping them company, checking their wounds.

"_Get the hell up here Mal!"_

He straightened up; River wouldn't call him Mal in a situation like this without some reason.

He vaulted up the stairs to the galley, then sprinted up to the bridge, nearly tripping on the bridge stairs.

As he got into the bridge, he saw what was looming up ahead of them. Zoe was right behind him, and Wash behind her.

An Alliance cruiser loomed up in front of them.

"_Firefly Serenity and accompanying ships, heave to and prepare to dock."_

"Qing Wa Cao De Liu Mang!"

"Mal? What do we do?" Wash asked.

River looked up at Mal, knowing exactly was in his head. "No, Mal. This is all of ours, not just yours. You won't do that to me."

Wash looked between them. "What are you talking about?"

Zoe knew the look on Mal's face though; it was the same look he had the day they had lost Serenity Valley.

"Time to face the music, darlin'." Mal whispered, then leaned over and kissed her.

"Not alone, ai ren." she said determinedly.

* * *

><p>Everybody gathered in the cargo bay, except the nurses and Simon, as well as the injured folk. Nobody was armed, although 2 pairs of them were conspicuously shabbily dressed.<p>

Everybody faced the cargo bay door, hands in sight. As it opened, 2 Alliance troops looked in, weapons up; seeing no ambush in sight, they stepped aside to each side of the door. Into the cargo bay walked a familiar face.

"Hello again, Captain Reynolds."

"I'll be a sonuvabitch...Commander-no, Captain Harken."

Harken stepped forward, extending a hand. Warily, Mal took it, shaking it once.

"It's nice to see you again, Captain."

"What brings you out Osiris-way, Captain Harken?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you did."

Mal's face darkened. "What's your game, Captain?"

Harken smiled an devilish little grin. "A mutual friend gave me orders to come out to this position and render assistance to a little fleet of rag tag ships, crewed by old Browncoats. It's no small surprise to find you in the thick of things, Captain.

"Nor yourself, Miss Tam." He stepped forward, giving her a polite greeting.

"Not Miss Tam for much longer, Captain." River said, grinning.

"It's very nice to meet you at last. At least this time, you won't have to get into an EVA suit to hide from me." he grinned.

He finally seemed to see the others; most he recognized, including the somewhat underdressed Jamie. (He'd only had a chance to pull on sleep pants before leaving his quarters; at his side, Inara was wearing only a silk robe, with her hair tousled and messy.)

"Mr. Monroe. Nice to meet you again."

"And you, Captain."

Mal looked at the men with amusement in his eyes. "Not very surprised to find you two know each other, truth be told."

"Just after you saved me from the Reaver, Captain. Mr. Monroe came on board our vessel...well, looking for you."

"Yea, we already hashed that out. Air through the engine."

Harken looked around the cargo bay, and saw the 13 kids laying on sleep mats; they were awake now, and staring at him wide-eyed, despite Wash's attempts to reassure them.

"Wuo de ma. They're the ones you rescued? They're only children."

River stepped up silently. "I was only a child when I was taken."

"Rung Tse Song Di Ching Dai Wuo Tzo. Minister Atwood told me that you had tumbled to something monstrous."

"It gets worse. We've got a fully-trained Academy assassin handcuffed in our galley storage. She hasn't woken up yet; I expect when she does, we'll need her to be restrained before she kills somebody."

Harken just looked ill. Finally, he seemed to snap himself out of it. "If you're willing, Captain, I'd like to get all of your friends' ships brought into our bay; we can protect you better there. We can also provide medical care if necessary."

"I'd appreciate it, Captain."

Harken turned to his guards. "You gentlemen can go back aboard the Magellan. Have the main bay cleared; we'll need room for 5 ships. Once aboard, you will extend the crews of these ships every courtesy. Dohn ma?"

"Aye aye, Captain." the higher ranking soldier said, before they walked back over to Magellan.

"Well, Captain. Care to give me the tour? As I recall, our last meeting was somewhat rudely interrupted by a Reaver."

Mal snorted. "Come on, I'll show ya around."

* * *

><p>Wash went back up to the bridge and piloted Serenity into Magellan's bay, where she came to rest alongside the 4 other ships of their group. The main hatches were opened, and although Alliance guards and crewmembers were present, they were mostly curious gawkers, rather than guardians.<p>

* * *

><p>The Osiris police force responded to an anonymous cortex message regarding the events at the Academy, the day of the attack.<p>

The bodies of the Blue Sun guards were strewn about everywhere; what was most incredible was the trail of papers that had been left behind, showing the way to the underground labs where horrific human experimentation had taken place.

As soon as possible, once Jamie had sorted out most of the Academy files, they were transmitted to Marcus' news contacts all over the 'verse.

The news waves and cortex lit up within hours of the story being released. The Miranda 'Wave had shaken the foundations of the Alliance, and it had only been seen once or a handful of times by the people of the 'Verse.

The constant bombardment of the news media and cortex news outlets worked to their advantage, in this instance; once news of horrific experimentation on children went out, Blue Sun stock dropped almost 75% in the first two weeks.

* * *

><p>6 hours after they had left Osiris, River suddenly got up from the bridge console and turned over the conn to Wash; she raced for the galley and opened the storage closet door. Lisa Lang had woken up.<p>

The blonde girl lifted her head from the floor and saw River; her eyes widened, and she shrieked "River!" She tried to get up, and found she couldn't move because of the handcuffs; River came to her and hugged her, sitting close while they chattered. Mal walked in a few minutes later, and stood in the doorway, grinning slightly; seen from this perspective, the pair looked like two schoolgirls rather than trained assassins.

When the conversation came around to the Academy, Lisa turned sad; River immediately regretted asking the question.

"I'm sorry, bao bei. That was unkind of me."

"It's okay, River. I just wish...I wish someone had come for me like Simon did for you."

"So do I, sweetie."

* * *

><p>In the first three days after the release of the Academy information, a number of military and political figures were treated to the sight of a Federal Marshal's badge, combined with the barrel of a gun, or in some cases, several guns. In total, more than 300 were arrested for corruption, illegal experimentation, and a whole slough of charges, all on the order of Charles Atwood and the new Committee for Investigation into Blue Sun.<p>

Charles Atwood had a two-fold job; he not only had to gather evidence and prosecute those responsible, but he also had to maintain the stability of the government to prevent mass panic or rebellion.

* * *

><p>The Minister of Defense had pushed and argued that the information regarding the Academy files should be classified.<p>

"Minister Atwood, this information could lead to a revolt by the Browncoats. I think it's an unacceptable risk."

"Really? An unacceptable risk? You don't seem to be a man that's fond of such risks."

"Never have been."

"Care to explain this video then?"

Atwood pushed a button on the console, and a holo vid popped up; it was a capture of the Defense Minister, along with a number of other Alliance personnel, watching stone-facedly as River Tam had needles inserted in her brain. Dr. Matthias had given his standard speech regarding 'Subject 0173's' viability in defense deployments.

The Defense Minister's face held the same stone-faced expression now. Atwood was suddenly furious at the man's lack of guilt.

"You helped do this to her! You took years away from this woman, and she will never be quite the same as she was. 13 children were rescued alive from that place, how many weren't? Your arrogance and lust for a 'better world' is exactly the same push that led to Miranda and Pax. Hell, she probably picked up that information right out of your own head, isn't that right?"

The Defense Minister remained aloof, staring at Atwood with hard eyes.

"I should let her come in here and take care of you herself. I'm sure she'd love to deal with it personally, somebody who put that sort of knowledge in her head." Atwood gave an evil smile as the minister's face began to crack; he knew how dangerous River Tam could be if threatened.

"You should thank me that you'll only be stuck on a penal moon for the rest of your life, serving out your sentence in the process of building 'better worlds'.

"Get him out of my sight." he said, and 2 Federal Marshals took the man away.

It was at that moment that Atwood decided to ensure that the Academy files were published in detail, removing only that information which was essential to the privacy of the victims. Everything else would be transparent to the public; probably the first time it had been done.

* * *

><p>The lack of work or motion for two weeks was grating on the crews of the 4 Independent ships, but they understood the need for it; they could be in danger if they left. Some rogue Alliance units still hadn't been found, and a number of Blue Sun ships were missing as well.<p>

The former Operative had been somewhat surprised that he had been allowed to remain on Serenity during his convalescence; rather, they seemed to be unwilling to let him go quite yet. This was indeed a change from his last encounter with Serenity, when Malcolm Reynolds had threatened to shoot him. The fact that he actually _had_ was inconsequential; while recovering from his gut wound, the Doctor had dutifully kept an eye on him, maintaining his treatment. The others, although he could still sense some hostility, would bring him food, and even come down and chat with him.

One of his most common visitors was his brother Tom; after their lengthy alienation (by his own hand), they seemed to be getting on quite well.

* * *

><p>The first time Marcus had gotten up from the bed for more than a bathroom visit, 4 days after leaving Osiris, they had gone out to the main deck of the Magellan, where a somber funeral was held for those who had died in the attempt on the Academy. Two Alliance soldiers had fallen, Private Chen Xiu and Private Bernard Fuller; as well, Kaye Barnum, Chin Shu's security specialist, and Jason Findley, Jim Raven's cook and jack of all trades. 2 of Badger's men had died as well. Full military honors were rendered to all 6, with the crews of Lady's Revenge, Serenity, Calamity Jane, and Walrus somewhat stunned at the presentation of arms.<p>

Following this funeral, where Alliance officers in full dress uniforms had fired salutes for the dead, came a much happier affair that celebrated their lives and accomplishments. The rollicking party lasted well past 2 AM ship's time, and even the Alliance officers and crew had gotten rowdy drunk along with the Independent crews.

The healing seemed to have begun right here.


	26. Chapter 26

At the end of their two weeks on Magellan, Captain Harken got the message that they had been hoping for; the presence of the people that had taken down the Academy had been requested to speak as witnesses against Blue Sun before the Committee.

When Harken brought this message to Mal, he suddenly acquired a look of worry.

"Relax, Captain. If they really wanted to arrest you, they'd have just sent me the warrants." Harken grinned evilly.

Mal snorted. "Offa that subject, Robert. I had a personal question I wanted to ask you."

"What is it, Mal?" Mal and Harken had come to respect each other during the past two weeks, and when not in command situations, they had begun calling each other by first names; working their way towards actual friendship.

"River and me aren't ones for needin' a shepherd or nothin', and we're figurin' that we don't feel much like waitin'. We wanted to ask, could you marry us onboard Serenity before we head back to Osiris?"

"We're heading to Londinium, but of course, Mal." Harken smiled.

* * *

><p>It wasn't a very big affair, truth be told; the crews of Serenity, Lady's Revenge, Calamity Jane, and Walrus, along with select members of Magellan's crew, and the crew of Toscany as well as Captain Li's Blue Devil squad had been invited.<p>

Kaylee had outdone herself, decorating the bay of Serenity as it hadn't been in...ever, and Magellan's cooks had helped Jenny prepare a buffet of food for the reception, which was being held in the Magellan's bay.

* * *

><p>Mal stood at the makeshift altar, with Serenity's male crew beside him; Serenity's female crew stood on the other side, just waiting for River.<p>

He shifted nervously in his nicest (only) suit; despite all of the waiting they had done, and the craziness of the past few months, he was unaccountably anxious about the proceedings.

He heard the music start, then his eyes caught a vision spun in gold and scarlet; Inara had given one of her nicest gowns to River, and the girl-no, woman-filled it out beautifully. The scarlet silk gown was threaded with gold, and embroidered with an intricate floral pattern. For so long thin and pale because of her afflictions and Simon's drug treatments, she had filled out since taking up with Mal.

Monty walked her up the aisle to the strains of a traditional chinese marriage song; River had asked the big man herself, and Monty was more than pleased to oblige. His newly grown beard was nicely groomed, and he wore his nicest clothing, with the long brown coat over all. Kaylee's capture unit was recording the entire proceeding.

"We are gathered here for a blessed occasion; it is a time-honored tradition of Captains the 'verse over, and a happy duty for myself. We are here for the joining of Malcolm Reynolds and River Tam, the celebration of a bond that cannot be separated, and a love that cannot be quantified." Harken's eyes sparkled, and everyone chuckled; it was clear who had written those last words.

"The couple have requested to speak their own vows." Harken looked to Mal.

"River, I think I've loved you ever since you came out of that box in the cargo bay." The crew of Serenity snickered at that. "I'm glad you came to be our Albatross, and even more glad that you came to me. Seems whenever I'm separated from you, my 'Verse seems just a little darker, and that can't be coincidence."

"Mal, from the first day I saw clearly on Serenity, I looked to you as first a guardian, then a friend...and finally, thanks to a little push from a friend, as something more." River winked at Inara, and the older woman chuckled. "I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Wherever you are is my home, ai ren."

"Do you, Malcolm Reynolds, take this woman?"

"I do."

"Do you, River Tam, take this man?"

"Dang ran!"

"By the power vested in me, I pronounce you Man and Wife. You may-"

Mal and River beat him to it. The kiss dragged on for a little (okay, a lot) longer than it should have, but finally they came up for air, looking a bit dazed. The spectators cheered gladly, and mobbed forward to congratulate the newlyweds.

The dancing and partying carried on into the night, until Mal and River slipped off to an empty Serenity.

* * *

><p>Magellan was enroute for Londinium the next morning, when a bleary-eyed Mal appeared on the bridge of Magellan. Harken looked at him with something akin to amusement.<p>

"Rough night, Mal?"

"Kaylee's engine wine's got some kick, let me tell ya. Not getting barely a wink of sleep don't help much." he said, grinning devilishly.

"Well, the hangover should be gone by the time we reach Londinium."

"Do you have any idea what we're heading into?"

"I think Minister Atwood wants you to reveal the true conditions of the Academy; I think he may even want River to testify."

"Not overly sure I'm comfortable with that."

"I wouldn't be either, Captain. She is one of the most reliable sources though."

* * *

><p>When they approached Londinium, they were given specific instructions as to where to land and when to appear.<p>

River took over the descent; the simple narrow little 18 karat gold band Mal had been able to pick up gleamed off of White Sun as they approached planetside. Lady's Revenge, Calamity Jane, and Walrus fell in beside them as they maneuvered for re-entry; they had clearance for a Parliamentary landing pad nearby to Parliament; the building was said to be an exact duplicate of Parliament on Earth-that-Was.

* * *

><p>"We've heard from some of the families of the victims, and seen incontrovertible documentary proof of Blue Sun's involvement in heinous experimentation; now we will hear from the proverbial horse's mouth exactly what this Academy did, as well as some of the other dirty little secrets that have come to light in these proceedings."<p>

The double doors at the end of the hall opened, and Mal Reynolds strode in, brown coat flapping, followed on the right by Zoe, and on the left by River. Behind followed all of those who had participated in the raid on the Academy. Forewarned, the guards had permitted them to keep their weapons.

"They have requested that I not identify them all, but one of their number has stepped forward, wishing to tell her story. The Committee calls River Reynolds to the witness stand."

River walked up, 'dressed to kill' in her normal dirtside working clothes, and stood in the witness box. She placed her hand on the reader pad, and the electronic announcer gave her maiden and married names.

"My name is River Reynolds, formerly River Tam...and I was a victim of the Academy." She saw the assembled faces turn to shock and horror at the concept.

By prearrangement, a video player began showing the video labeled the R. Tam Sessions, nicked from the Academy database.

* * *

><p>Jamie felt a chill of horror as he saw the video again; he had never really been able to banish the sight from his mind, even in the 8 months since he had been discharged; he turned away, so as to avoid any further exposure to it. Inara held him, and they both closed their eyes.<p>

Simon felt a tang of regret as he watched; he had never seen this particular video, and was suddenly overcome with sadness that they had been able to do this to his baby sister.

* * *

><p>Two pairs of eyes in the room were watching not the video, but River herself; she steeled herself and looked into those eyes; she knew they would be waiting for her after this session dispersed, and the thought brought little comfort, as she tried to keep out the images from everyone's minds around her.<p>

* * *

><p>One by one, their stories were told; for most here, this was the first time they had heard any of this. The Academy, the hunt of the Tams, the discovery of Miranda; no stone was left unturned. The gathered audience, and by extension the people of the entire 'Verse, saw for the first time that they had seen only a fraction of the 'Verse around them.<p>

After brief discussion, the committee stood and closed the session at end of day.

"We have a brief announcement. The Parliament has issued a general pardon to all of those involved in the destruction of the Academy project. No action shall be taken against them; indeed, they have rendered a great service to the Alliance, and shall be rewarded for their courage and moral character." The fact that the Parliament was missing nearly a hundred of its 350 members due to ethics, corruption, and war crimes charges went unremarked.

"Second, the Parliament has reached an agreement that Blue Sun shall be broken from its near-monopoly status and split into its constituent businesses. The exact details will need to be determined, for which purpose the Alliance is searching for experts in the field of economics and business ethics.

"This session is closed for the day. We declare a recess for two days, and will meet again to continue the investigation at that time." he cracked a gavel.

* * *

><p>Mal put an arm around River's shoulders, and they made to head for the door. Suddenly River stiffened, and thought <em>Someone approaches. Be polite, and keep your gun in its holster.<em>

_Bao bei? What's wrong?_

A voice behind them caused Mal to jerk around, as though a puppet on strings; River turned more slowly, a controlled spin.

"River!" a voice shrieked; a shape hurtled towards her, and nearly tackled her. The shape resolved itself into an older woman with blonde hair, wearing fine clothes.

"Mother." a somewhat muffled voice said. A man pressed by Mal, joining the hug. "and Father."

"River, my darling. You're alright!"

"It's been a long time coming." Mal said softly.

"Who are you?" the man asked suspiciously.

"He's my Lao Gohng." River said quietly.

"Your Husband? What-" the woman said startledly; the man scowled at Mal, looking at him as though he had 2 heads.

"Yea, that would be me." Mal said dryly; _Temper, bao bei._ he heard.

"That's impossible, we-"

"I love him very much, Father. We are joined by love, bond, and law."

That started a shouted argument between River and her father, and Mal stood off to one side beside her mother, both of them looking like parents watching unruly children. The argument attracted attention; a Cortex reporter came near, looking for a story, but he was scared off by a very burly, very angry looking Jayne.

Mal put up with the arguing for a few more seconds, then finally interrupted.

"If you two are finished arguing, maybehaps you could introduce us, River?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, looking chagrined.

"Gabriel and Regan Tam, this is Malcolm Reynolds, my Lao Gohng."

"Malcolm, it is very nice to meet you." Regan said politely.

"And you, ma'am."

"You're...her husband?" Gabriel said, unbelievingly.

"I believe that's what Captain Harken said yesterday." Mal said with a smirk on his face. River's glare convinced him to wipe it off soon though.

"Osiris law is that the parents must approve the marriage."

"Then it's a good thing that we weren't married under Osiris law." Mal said darkly, starting to get annoyed at the man. Regan comprehended his stormy face, and moved to shush her husband.

"I simply do _not_ approve!" Gabriel bellowed, ignoring his wife.

"Mr. Tam, let me make myself clear. Either you be polite about this and accept the fact that we're married, and I'll make every effort to ensure you can be part of River's life; or we leave this place forever, and you'll never see her again. I know what River would prefer, but I will not stand for your interference in this matter, dohn ma?" Mal's speech had intensified somewhat as he started talking; Gabriel's face blanched at the realization that Mal was fully capable of doing what he threatened. The determined look on River's face told him the rest of the tale. She would stay with this off-world...yokel, without fail.

Finally, his tongue thick, Gabriel croaked out "My apologies, Mr. Reynolds. I fear the shock of seeing River again has unbalanced me a bit. By way of further apology, perhaps you and River would like to have dinner with Regan and myself?"

"That would be fine, Mr. Tam." Mal said, a cool grin on his face.

* * *

><p>Regan saw Simon standing to the side with the others, who had been unwilling to get drawn into that particular spat, and rushed to him, taking him into a quick embrace.<p>

"Simon! We haven't seen you in years!"

"Mother, Father." Simon said coolly; he wasn't quite so excited at seeing his parents again, after the last time he had seen them, nearly 4 years before.

"Arentcha gonna introduce us?" Kaylee said hopefully.

"Mother, Father; this is my wife, Kaylee."

"Your wife? That's so wonderful, Simon!" Regan said, hugging Kaylee quickly. Kaylee beamed at the acceptance from Regan. Gabriel had an odd look on his face, but a combined stern glance from Mal and River told him that maybe he should keep his mouth shut. "So nice to meet you, my dear." he said somewhat coolly, greeting her politely.

"I'd reckon there's more than a few tales as need tellin'." Mal said. "Conjure maybehaps we should all go to dinner."

* * *

><p>Serenity's crew and the Tams actually retired to an estate a few miles from the Parliament building; Charles Atwood had offered his estate as a place for the crews to stay while they were on Londinium.<p>

Over dinner, Gabriel and Regan Tam were introduced to the whole Serenity extended family, and heard many stories. Regan had immediately fallen in love with Kaylee's bright spirit, and although a bit unsure of Mal at first, the stories of River's chase of him in their early days after Miranda softened her mood toward him; she could see their love burning brightly.

Gabriel was still feeling a bit resentful of Simon, Mal and these others; something in him refused to accept that these people were good enough for his daughter to be around. About the time they got to the story of Miranda, though, he began to warm up. His daughter had changed, both for better and worse, and entirely because he put her in the Academy. The day's revelations had quickly destroyed his previous notions and faith that the place had been what he believed; he realized that his claim of control over River's life had been irrevocably lost.

He watched more closely now, and saw the little things that she did, that he did, that they did between themselves; he could sense their connection, at a level deeper than he could imagine. He began to realize how a girl as strong-willed as River could fall in love with this old pirate.

"He prefers being called a Gentleman Thief." River said, her eyes twinkling. Gabriel sat, stunned; had she just pulled it out of his head?

"Yes, ba ba. You heard my story on the stand; I'm a Reader." She put her hand on his, _and not all of what they did was bad. It gave me new ways to make connections with others._

* * *

><p>Mal saw the reconciliation happen before his eyes, and was glad; he hadn't wanted to be the cause of a division between River and her parents.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Had some trouble writing these last few chapters; R and R please! Storyline definitely drawing to a close for now; keep on the lookout for little vignettes regarding events that are referred to but not explained. Also keep on the lookout for stories regarding OC's, including possibly the Lady's Revenge and Calamity Jane.<em>


	27. Chapter 27

The 'Verse was changing, slowly and irrevocably. For the first time, Mal Reynolds thought it might be going in the right direction.

* * *

><p>The Tams had been able to stay for 3 days with the crew of Serenity, at Charles Atwood's estate on Londinium, before needing to return home to maintain their business and get back to work. With promises to 'wave soon and gentle cajoling threats that they should come to visit often, Mal breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone. They were nice people, once you got to know them, but they were just overbearing as hell, especially Gabriel. Mal knew that River had gotten the same feeling off of them during this visit; the two of them had hidden as much as was possible, treating this little vacation as their honeymoon.<p>

Once the Tams were gone, the crew relaxed and availed themselves of the various facilities on Atwood's estate; they went swimming, fishing, hiking, boating, and all manner of things that are plainly impossible out in the Black.

Although he tried to enjoy himself along with the crew as much as possible, Mal was called away at least every other day by Charles Atwood; the man had come to rely on Mal, somewhat, as a reliable source of information, an outsider's look, on issues and problems out in the Rim.

Mal had always been untrusting of government, and of the Alliance specifically; his fears had been seemingly well-founded in the face of Miranda and the Academy, and the horrors he and Zoe had experienced during and after the War.

For all that, though, Mal knew the Alliance was changing. Atwood had been named Prime Minister after the former Prime Minister had been arrested; information had come to light regarding a number of questionable or blatantly illegal activities taking place on directions right out of the Prime Minister's office. Atwood had vowed that his administration would be transparent to the people, only keeping a limited amount of information classified to protect the public interests.

Mal would normally trust such promises as far as he could throw them, but something about Atwood's crusader spirit had given him confidence that the man would see it done.

* * *

><p>About a week after their arrival on Londinium during the circus of the Committee hearing, Mal sat down with Atwood and his new Chief of Staff, Marcus, one late afternoon.<p>

The setting sun cast a orange glow across the nicely appointed office of Atwood, and cast an amber tint to the bourbon all three men were sipping.

"So, Mal. What are your plans now?"

"'Fraid I hadn't reckoned on planning just yet. M'crew and I're enjoying our time planetside while we can, little enough chance to enjoy it in the Black."

"They're bored out of their minds, aren't they?" Marcus said, smiling.

"Like ta beat their brains out. Always tend ta get land-crazy afore long." Mal grinned in response.

"Think you'll go back to legal haulage contracts?" Atwood said.

"'Bout the only work left to us, now we're all celebrities and all." Mal said, a touch resentfully; he hadn't been pleased that their identities as the destroyers of the Academy had become public knowledge. It would make finding work of an illegal nature very difficult.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find many eager folk on Londinium looking for a transport ship to carry their goods across the 'Verse."

"Appreciate the offer, Charles, but my crew and I have always preferred to stand on our own two feet. Somebody's willin' to hire us to haul for 'em? We welcome the job. Don't want to be given jobs just on charity though."

"I can respect that, Captain. I wouldn't suppose that everyone is trying to hire heroes though; there are many who know the name of Malcolm Reynolds from before, but were prevented from hiring for other reasons."

"I suppose that's true."

"Mal, I've been mulling over some things. What about the 'Verse, and the Rim especially, is the most troubling to you? Apart from the Alliance, I mean?" Charles said, eyes twinkling.

Mal laughed briefly, then turned serious. "Biggest problems I see are problems where folk're taken advantage of, one of the few places where I think the Alliance don't do enough. Folk taken as slaves, forced indenture, the like. We never took on a slave contract before; got offered plenty o' times, but they never sat right with us. In general, I'd suppose the problem is just folk takin' what they want, takin' advantage of each other."

Charles was nodding, like he expected it. "I pretty much expected that answer, to be honest. That's because those are much the same problems that I worry about, as well as general lawlessness on the Rim. We may disagree on what role the Alliance should take in such things, but I think both of us agree that when criminals feel free to go about, takin' what they will from folk as need it, killin' and kidnappin' with impunity, the system ain't workin."

"S'pose yer right about that." Mal said thoughtfully.

"There are other problems that concern me; organ smuggling, for one. We've got to assume the organs involved are coming from somewhere; either the prison system, which we're working on reforming, or from innocent folk, which adds a horrific dimension to it."

"We had a case where we got in the middle of an organ smuggling operation, but the organs were genetically modified; more like lab stuff."

"That does account for some of it, but definitely not all."

"So that's part o' what yer worried about too."

"Yep. My final concern is with what we've discovered in our investigations of Blue Sun. A number of research projects that we went to shut down have gone completely missing; the researchers, lab equipment, research materials, everything; our Marshal teams have found empty labs and no trace of their occupants. Also, we believe several of Blue Sun's troubleshooter teams have vanished, as well as a good number of their security operatives and a number of researchers and administrators."

"Only a matter of time finding them, I suppose."

"That was what I thought at first, but I found that our Marshal service is grossly underequipped to take on a mission like that; as well, I'm not entirely sure about the corruption factor. It makes it harder to take out unsavory folk like slavers or these corporate raiders if the officers going after them are working for them."

"Conjure that's so. Blue Sun's accounts have been crashed, haven't they?"

"They have; but we have to assume that there are hidden assets we haven't or can't uncover."

Mal shook his head; he thought he saw the trap coming, but couldn't be sure. His own recently-discovered reading ability was somewhat limited, he had been frustrated to discover.

"Not sure what you think we can do about it."

Charles grinned like a crocodile; Marcus acquired his own grin, seeing the Captain's discomfiture.

"Actually, there is something you can do for me. Work for me. Be my eyes and ears in the 'Verse."

"Sorry, don't work for the Alliance." Mal said flatly.

"Well...I appreciate that you're hesitant, but hear me out."

Mal crossed his arms, looking for all the world like a petulant child, Marcus decided.

"What I need is someone I can trust. There's a long list of people that work for me; barring Marcus here, and a few particularly moral characters I've found in various departments, I don't think I can trust many of them. That's changing, as we clean house, but I don't think these problems on the Rim can wait that long.

"In fact, the ones at the top of the list that I trust are you and your crew, Captain. This isn't conscription, I can't force you to work for me; but I want you to. You're good men and women, Captain. Straight shooters all the way. I need that quality."

"Alright, what's the game?"

Charles smiled; hook set, time to reel him in. "Nominally you would be part of the Federal Marshals; in practice, though, you would be the head of a new unit, with 'Verse wide jurisdiction and a focus on human rights violations. You would report only to the Prime Minister's office; probably with Marcus as your primary liaison. Your actions and itinerary would be hidden from public view until they become history; we don't want this to become a sticking point on public transparency."

"I don't have no particular problem with the 'Verse knowing about what we do; would make it harder to infiltrate the organizations we'll be up against. Maybe just show what we do, not who does it?"

Marcus smiled again; the man was talking like he was already on the job. Somewhere along the way, Charles had picked up a supreme gift for convincing people.

Mal suddenly realized what he had said, and looked chagrined. "I'm that obvious, huh?"

"Your interest is...palpable, Captain." Atwood said, grinning ear to ear.

"I can't decide this on my own. Gotta talk to my crew."

"Of course, Captain. Give them my best, I've got to remain in the capitol for a while. If you decide not to take the offer, feel free to stay on my estate as long as you like, until you're ready to go looking for work. In either case, you're always welcome to come visit."

Mal turned to go. Charles suddenly looked up and said "Oh, I forgot to tell you about what we can do for Serenity." and grinned.

* * *

><p>A medium height Chinese man filtered through the crowds of Persephone, followed by two men of similar height and appearance. All three wore nondescript clothes; the Chinese man even wore a long brown coat, although the two men that followed him, carrying some bags, were wearing blue gloves.<p>

General Chan kept silent as they searched for transport; they didn't dare give up the game now. _Damn that Charles Atwood, and damn that Malcolm Reynolds!_ Chan had lost access to most of his accounts; he had a few hidden ones that he didn't dare touch for the moment, until he could access them securely. They had to buy passage to a little-known border moon; there, he had learned, some of Blue Sun's researchers and their lab equipment had escaped to, from the wreck of Blue Sun itself.

_They'd wait; they could afford to wait. Sooner or later he'd get his chance._

The men behind him had bland, nondescript faces; even after years of consorting with them, he couldn't tell if they ever had emotions.

* * *

><p>Mal gathered together the crew of Serenity into the galley of the boat, the place where they had always made such decisions. He could see that his crew was fully at ease with themselves, but also a touch edgy; everyone looked a bit land-crazy.<p>

"Well, here's where we decide where to go from now on.

"I've got a couple of shipping agents sniffing around for a contract here on Londinium; simple haulage contracts, none o' the excitement we normally like; but it's a job. It'll keep us flyin', and probably in a mite more comfort than we have in the past."

River smirked as she began to see what it was that Atwood had offered.

"I also had another offer. Charles Atwood's setting up a new law enforcement unit to go out to the rim and deal with human rights violations. He wants us to do it."

The room was silent; he wasn't sure if they were pleased or pissed yet.

"Shiny!" Kaylee piped. "Sounds better ta be helpin' folk than just haulin' stuff 'bout th'Verse." Simon nodded silently.

"That was my impression, mei mei."

River looked up at him. _All the way, bao bei._

_Didn't even need ta ask._

"Jamie? This's yer chance to be in the Marshals again."

Jamie just nodded, a grin growing on his face again.

"'Nara, not sure how attached to this guy ya are, this is yer chance to get outta here." Mal teased.

She just glared at him for a moment, then answered. "Wherever he goes, I go. Besides, you may need my contacts or education before this is over."

Zoe looked up at him, and said "Needs doin, sir."

Wash parroted Inara, "Wherever she goes, I go."

Mal turned to Jayne. "Jayne? Time ta weigh in."

Jayne was silent for a moment, then looked up at Mal. "Time comes in a man's life when he looks at what he's done, and where he's goin' with it. Don't particularly like the things I've done in the past; maybehaps I need ta do somethin' good to make up fer it. 'Sides, got responsibilities now; gotta do what's right." He nodded.

Jenny sighed happily, in admiration of her man. "Reckon you'll need a cook still." she said, twinkle in her eyes.

"Reckon that's so, mei mei." Mal said. "Alright, sounds like we're all aboard. Kaylee, Wash, get set to move Serenity over to the main shipfitters docks. We got some work ta do."

"Cap'n?"

"Serenity ain't gonna go into this unarmed. Charles has offered to set her up with a number of weapons, defensive and offensive. We'll set 'em up so they're normally hidden, and we can pop 'em out when we need 'em. Should make it go easier tryin' to use Serenity as a bait ship for raiders and the like."

"Sounds good ta me, Cap'n." Jayne said.

"There's one other thing. We've had two volunteers for this mission."

"Who're they, Cap'n?" Kaylee asked, eyes shining.

"Well...they're old friends. Lookin' fer a change in careers, both of 'em."

River smirked again. Jamie caught the smirk, then put together the pieces.

"Badger."

Mal nodded. "And Petaline. Both of 'em are willin' to go along with us, do whatever needs doin'. Badger's got quite a bit of expertise on things like this, should come in handy having his information. And Petaline's pretty well suited to bein' an undercover; she's a decent actor, if I do recall."

Everyone nodded; they knew they would probably value the expertise of the two before long.

"Alright, I'll let 'em know, and talk with Charles tomorrow. Everyone, go enjoy yourselves for one last night. Then we got work to do."

They all grinned, then went off to enjoy the estate for one more night.

* * *

><p><em>And that's all, folks. Stay tuned for vignettes and short stories about my OC's; also stay tuned for the continuation of this, whenever I've got time to be workin' on it.<em>


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